


Can you adopt two ghosts?

by Baykit



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Mischief, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 26,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baykit/pseuds/Baykit
Summary: When the prince is freed from Vanessa's basement by a pair of unusual ghosts he has no idea what's in store for him.
Comments: 98
Kudos: 340





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work was based off of comics drawn by owldart on Tumblr. You can find their work [Here](https://owldart.tumblr.com/post/612445731375185920/actual-footage-of-local-man-being-bullied-by)

Prince stared down at the stagnant water slowly filling the basement. His shoulders ached from the awkward position the shackles attached to his upper arms had placed him in. He wasn’t sure how long he had been locked down here. He was sure it had been a few days, the sun had risen and set a few times, but it had been dark now for so long he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He tried to wet his lips but his mouth was so dry that nothing came out. Prince felt a darkness welling up inside him as his eyes glowed a soft golden hue as small golden drops fell from him eyes.

“I guess this is how I die,” he muttered to himself, “Alone in my fiancée’s basement, from dehydration. Man, this sucks. I have so much I still want to do…”

“Like what?” a small voice from below him below him piped up.

Prince lifted his head slightly to see… a ghost? He wasn’t sure how else to describe the creature floating before him. The small purple being didn’t seem to have any legs and if it wasn’t for the light blue outline surrounding it, he wouldn’t have been sure it had arms either. She, he was pretty sure this being was a she, looked up at him from beneath the brim of a light blue top hat with a yellow ribbon around the base.

“Hi,” the creature said.

“Hat!” said another voice coming from the barred window behind him.

Another ghost-like creature pushed itself between the bars and into the room. Only, this one was a light green color and had a pale blue ribbon in her… well, what he assumed was her hair.

“I couldn’t make it to the attic before Vanessa almost caught me again!” the green one complained.

“Who…” Prince asked.

What was going on? Why were they trying to sneak past Vanessa?

“Ugh, we’re never gonna get that Time Piece,” Hat said, ignoring Prince’s question.

“Wait, he’s new,” the green one said, pinching Prince’s cheek.

“Yeah,” Hat giggled, “he said he’s dead.”

“Guess he won’t need this then!” the green one proclaimed as she snatched Prince’s crown off of his head.

“Hey!” Prince protested.

“Bow, you genius! We can trade the crown for the Time Piece!” Hat exclaimed.

“Exactly! No sneaking necessary,” Bow said.

“Wait a minute!” Prince yelled, his voice horse.

Both ghosts turned towards him now, their eyes expectant.

“Uh… Vanessa, she won’t be interested in a crown,” Prince explained, “she has one of her own you know.”

“That’s true,” Hat said, her face uncertain.

“But, uh, if you help me down, I can show you a shortcut to the attic. You can avoid Vanessa entirely,” Prince said.

The two ghosts looked at each other, he could tell they were still uncertain.

“And…um… you can keep my crown. I don’t really need it,” Prince said.

“Sold!” Bow exclaimed.

Both ghosts whipped umbrellas from…somewhere… and twin blue beams shot from the tips and collided with his shackles. The shackles cracked and shattered and Prince dropped to the floor. Falling face first into the stagnant water he couldn’t stop himself from taking a few gulps of it. He had to spit most of it back out because of the vile taste but he still managed to swallow just a bit to sooth his parched throat. He shakily rose to his feet, shivering in the cold.

“So, where’s this shortcut?” Hat asked as she bobbed expectantly in the air.

“Right,” Prince said as he walked over to the row of barrels beside the wall, “between here. There’s a secret passageway. It will take you straight to the attic.”

Bow wiggled between the barrels and then popped her head back out.

“He’s right Hat! There’s a passageway here!” Bow exclaimed.

“Thank you, mister,” Hat said as she and Bow disappeared into the passageway.

Prince scanned the basement and easily spotted the cellar doorway. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he needed to leave. At least for now. Exiting the cellar, he was immediately hit with a blast of frigid night air. That was strange, wasn’t it summer when Vanessa locked him away? Shivering violently Prince stumbled across the snowy field until he finally reached the bridge… only to find it broken with the middle portion missing. And beyond it… a dark and foreboding forest filled with black and twisting trees. Prince fell to his knees at the end of the bridge. What had happened here? What had happened to the kingdom?

“Hey mister, what are you still doing here?” a voice from behind him asked.

Prince looked over his shoulder to see Hat and Bow floating behind him with triumphant smiles on their faces. Hat was holding what appeared to be large hourglass that was giving off a strange glow. That must be the Time Piece she had mentioned earlier, Prince though.

“Well,” Prince sighed, “the bridge appears to be broken.”

“Can’t you just jump it?” Hat asked as she sidled up to him, “That’s how we got here.”

Prince gave a short laugh that materialized in the air before him as a puff of steam.

“No, I don’t think I can. My legs are too weak. And even if I could… my home is gone. This…this used to be a beautiful kingdom, green and vibrant if you can believe it, but it’s gone now. I don’t know what happened but I don’t have anywhere left to go,” Prince said, his voice catching in his throat has fat tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

“Oh,” Bow said as she also crept closer to him.

The three of them were silent for a moment as they stared at the eerily silent forest across the bridge, snow falling lightly around them.

“You know,” Hat said, “we’re trying to get home ourselves.”

“Really?” Prince asked.

“Yeah,” said Bow, “But we need to collect a whole bunch of these Time Pieces to do it.”

“So… we’re gonna be here awhile and…what I’m trying to say…maybe you could come stay with us for a bit? At least until you figure things out,” Hat offered.

“Really? You mean that?” Prince asked with a start.

“Yeah,” Bow said, “Our place is really big! Kinda too big for just the two of us anyways. I’d be nice having a third person aboard.”

Prince took one last look at the twisting forests before him before giving his answer.

“If you really don’t mind, I think I’d like that,” Prince replied.

They both gave a whoop of excitement before Bow threw herself into him arms and Hat, with a quick double bounce, managed to land on his head.

“Hang on tight,” Bow said with a mischievous smirk spreading across her face.

“What? Why?” Prince managed to ask before a strange force hoisted him into the air and off into the unknown.


	2. The Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow show Prince around their ship.

“You can open your eyes now,” Hat said.

Prince slowly opened his eyes only to blink rapidly in the sudden brightness of the room. As his vison cleared, his jaw dropped as he took in the area before him. It was a large room with walls that seemed to be made out of brick. The main area had a green carpet with a large red and white bullseye in the center; there was also an elevated walkway on the far side of the room. On both levels there seemed to be large picture frames, however the pictures themselves seemed to be emitting a strange glow. Next to the largest frame on the elevated level was a massive vault with a clock face on the door. There were four doors scattered through out the room, several of which also seemed to be emitting the same glow as the frames.

Prince’s eyes were drawn to the floor when he heard a small beeping noise and felt a small nudge against his foot. As he looked down, he saw an odd disk that seemed to be gliding across the floor somehow. The disk gave another beep and nudged his foot again. Prince stepped back and the disk continued on its way.

“How…what…” Prince stammered.

“That’s Rumbi!” Bow exclaimed as she floated over and gave the disk a pat.

“And this is our space ship!” Hat said as she spread her arms in a triumphant manner.

“Space…ship?” Prince asked.

“Just…turn around,” Bow giggled.

Prince slowly turned and was rendered speechless by the sight. Behind him was a massive window. In the center of the window was a large sphere that covered with swathes of blues, purples and greens. Surrounding the sphere was a black void broken up by pin pricks of light.

“Is that…” Prince asked.

“Yep,” said Hat as she floated up beside him, “that’s your forest down there.”

“How is any of this possible?” Prince whispered.

“Uh… we don’t know all of the details. We didn’t build this place or anything. But suffice to say, we aren’t exactly from here,” Hat said.

“Oh…” Prince said, not exactly understanding but not sure he could process much more at this point.

“Sooo you must be hungry, right?” Bow said as she floated up to him.

Prince’s rumbling stomach answered Bow’s question. Prince felt his cheeks warm as both Hat and Bow snickered. They then both reached down, took his hands, and led him through the door on the left.

“Cooking Cat!” Bow sang as the entered what appeared to be large kitchen.

Turning around from their position by the stove, was a large orange cat wearing a white chef’s jacket and a chef’s hat. The cat had a large frying pan in her hand.

“We brought a guest and he’s really hungry. Can you make him something?” Hat asked.

“Of course! Cooking Cat is here! Any requests?” Cooking Cat asked.

Prince’s stomach growled again, making even Cooking Cat stare.

“Um… anything is fine as long as it’s fast,” Prince said, embarrassed.

“Of course,” Cooking Cat replied.

Prince, Hat and Bow sat down at a counter with bar stools in front of it as Cooking Cat moved around the kitchen with incredible speed. Prince’s stomach growled even louder as a delicious aroma filled the kitchen. Finally, Cooking Cat placed three plates of pasta with a red sauce with bits of meat in it in front of them.

Prince could hardly control himself as he wolfed down the entire plate. When he finally stopped, his cheeks warmed again as he noticed that Hat and Bow were staring at him again.

“Ah…my apologies. I forgot my manners. It’s just…I haven’t eaten in…I’m actually not sure how long,” Prince said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Ah, no it’s okay. We know how good Cooking Cat’s food is,” Bow said as she swirled up a fork of pasta and crammed it in her mouth.

“So…you’re ghosts but you still eat?” Prince asked.

“Hm…oh,” Hat said as she finished swallowing, “we don’t really need to eat, but we still like to. It tastes good and it feels good.”

“I see,” Prince said as they finished their food.

As Bow and Hat cleaned up their dishes, Prince walked up to Cooking Cat.

“Um, Miss Cooking Cat, thank you for the food. I…I noticed that you put bacon in the sauce. How did you know I liked bacon?” Prince said.

“I had a hunch, and Cooking Cat always trusts her instincts,” Cooking Cat said with a wink.

“Come on!” Bow said, “I want to show you our room!”

Prince gave Cooking Cat a slight bow and then headed for the door. As he followed Hat and Bow through the main room again, he noticed something.

“Hat? Bow? Why does your…ship… have ladders and such? Can’t you just levitate?” Prince asked.

Hat and Bow stopped next to the light blue door on the lower level and shared a long look before answering.

“Uh…well…the ghost thing is kinda new,” Hat said.

“New?” Prince asked.

“Well, yeah. We were solid and stuff. Like you. Then we went exploring in Subcon Forest looking for more Time Pieces,” Bow said.

“Time Pieces…like the one you got from Vanessa’s attic?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, they’re super important,” Hat said, “We use them to power our ship. Anyways we were just exploring the forest and this blast of cold air hit us and we passed out. When we woke up we were like this.”

“That is very strange,” Prince said, “are you stuck like this?”

“Not sure,” Bow said, “but it’s okay. Honestly, we kinda like it. This ghost thing is kinda fun,” Bow said as she bobbed up and down in the air.

“Enough about that,” Hat said, “this is the coolest room in the whole ship!”

With that, Hat glided through a door that seemed to open on its own and led Prince into a room that was smaller than the main room, but was still quite large. Half of the room was overtaken by a truly massive pile of multicolored pillows with two slanted walkways on either side. In the remaining space there was a purple canopy bed, a blue closet, a chest and, in the center of the room, a large telescope.

“Come on,” Bow said as she jumped onto the bed and gave a small bounce, “you can sleep here.”

“Don’t you need…do you still sleep?” Prince asked.

“Yes, we still sleep, now come on. There’s room for all of us,” Hat said as she took off her top hat and placed it on the chest.

Hesitantly, Prince sat down on the side of the bed and sat down. He removed his boots and placed them on the side of the bed. Then he unbuttoned his red jacket and draped it over the chair in front of the desk. Finally, he crawled under the covers and gave a small sigh of relief as his body sank into the soft mattress. He was already drifting off as he felt Hat and Bow snuggle in on either side of him. You know, he thought to himself, you wouldn’t expect it but, I guess ghosts are warm.


	3. Bath Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince tries to get the girls to take a bath

Prince wandered through the space ship. Hat and Bow had said something about detecting another Time Piece on an island called ‘Mafia Town’ and had headed down to get it. He didn’t know much else about Mafia Town, only that it was mainly inhabited by these large, bald men in suits, who called themselves the mafia; it was also the home of this girl called Mustache Girl whom Bow and Hat considered their friend. Apparently, they had originally met this Mustache Girl when they were both ‘solid’ but she hadn’t been fazed when they came back as ghosts and for this they had been thrilled. Hat and Bow had promised to bring Mustache Girl up to the ship at a later date so Prince could meet her. 

Prince wandered into the kitchen and over to the telescope. Apparently, there was one of these telescopes in almost every room on the ship, but several rooms on ship whose doors were still sealed. Hat and Bow had explained that this was to conserve power, and the doors would reopen when they got more Time Pieces back. Peering through the telescope, Prince could see Mafia Town below. The telescope wasn’t powerful enough for him to see the residents of the island but he still felt a pang of worry. From the girl’s description, these mafia fellows weren’t very nice. In fact, they were the ones responsible for the loss of Time Pieces in the first place! Wasn’t this far too dangerous a mission for the two of them?

“Prince! We’re back!” the girls called from the main room.

Prince turned away from the telescope and rushed into the main room, a feeling of relief surging through him.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re both alright! I was starting to get wor…what happened to you two?!” Prince cried in surprise.

Hat and Bow floated in the main room, completely unharmed but completely covered in mud that was dripping off their bodies and onto the floor. But even the mud could not disguise the proud looks on their faces and the Time Piece that was gripped in Bow’s hands.

“We found this Mafia guy with a Time Piece that was a total scardy-cat!” Hat exclaimed.

“Yeah, we covered ourselves in mud and chased him around until he handed it over! He thought we were space invaders! It was so fun!” Hat laughed.

“Oh, I suppose that’s good then, well done you two. But, ah, I think you two should hop in the bath and clean all of that mud off, it’s dripping all over the floor,” Prince sighed.

At those words Hat and Bow froze, then shared a long look with each other.

“Um, are you two alright? You really need to clean the mud off quickly or it will be very uncomfortable when it dries,” Prince said.

Hat and Bow stared at him and then started to edge away from him very slowly.

“You have taken a bath before, haven’t you?” Prince asked.

With those words, Hat and Bow rocketed away from him and through the door to the engine room.

“Wha…wait!!” Prince yelled as he chased after him.

A half hour later, Prince paused in the engine room, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. The girls, as he had discovered, could not pass through solid objects as he had often been told ghosts could do. They could, however, make their bodies incredible thin and flat and squeeze into incredibly small spaces. This discovery had resulted in a very sore nose for the Prince as he had made several reckless dives trying to catch the two kids before they squirmed their way into yet another hiding spot.

Giggles echoed through the ship and the Prince let out an annoyed sigh. What had started as a desperate race to avoid bath time, had obviously evolved into a game as Prince had chased the pair of them through every open room in the ship. Flecks of mud had been scattered everywhere, and even Rumbi’s usual happy beeps now sounded a bit annoyed as it made its way across the floor. His only solace was that the girls had avoided their bedroom. He supposed that even they didn’t want to clean mud off of their enormous pile of pillows.

Prince straightened and brushed off his jacket. This obviously wasn’t working; he’d have to change strategies. He stalked into the bathroom and looked around. One of these days he was going to have to ask the girls who designed the ship because they truly hadn’t spared any expense. The bathroom was a sparkling white and the tub was massive, with four golden claws supporting it. Even by his standards it was luxurious. He rummaged through the cabinets, there had to be something he could use to lure the girls in here. Then, on the top shelf, he spotted it. Yes, that could work.

“Alright girls you win,” Prince said as he stood back in the main room, “really, I only wanted to share with you one of the most fun bath time experiences known to this planet, but if you’re really that against bath time I guess I give up.”

From the corner of his eye Prince spotted some movement and he heard some rustling from behind him. Good, he had their attention.

“You know I was surprised to see you had this. But I suppose some products are really universal,” Prince said as he pulled a bottle out from behind his back, “And I was even more surprised to see its never been used. So, I suppose you two have never had a bubble bath?”

Now, from the corner of his eye, Prince could see the top of Bow’s head poking out from behind the relic stand and there was the top of Hat’s hat from behind the tv.

“Yes, I used to love bubble baths when I was a kid,” Prince continued, “you could make whole mountains of bubbles to play with. But if you really aren’t interested, I suppose I can just get rid of it.”

With that, Prince headed to the trash chute but before he reached it two small bodies crashed into him and knocked him to the floor.

“NOOO,” Hat and Bow cried, “we want to try it! Please!”

A little while later, Prince was wondering if he had added too much of the bubble bath soap to the water. That, or the alien version was far more effective than the kind he had used in his youth. Either way, the literal mountain of bubbles in front of him was taller than he was. Well, at least the girls were enjoying it, he thought as two little faces poked out of the bubbles.

“See? Not so bad is it,” Prince said.

Prince was answered with a round of giggles as the faces disappeared back into the bubbles. Prince gave a small snort of amusement.

“Just make sure you clean behind your ears,” Prince sighed.

After draining the tub, Hat floated next to Prince with her towel over her head and shoulders like a hooded cape while Prince rubbed a towel through Bows curls. Then he paused for a moment, his face thoughtful.

“Hey can I ask you two a question?” Prince said.

“Sure,” Hat replied.

“Why did you two have to cover yourselves in mud to scare the mafia guy? I mean you’re already ghosts and aliens. Wasn’t that enough?” Prince said.

Bow and Hat got quiet for a moment, bobbing in the air before they finally answered him.

“Huh. Good question,” Bow said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know the ship technically doesn't have a bathroom. I added one for this chapter. 
> 
> Also the reason they didn't know the bubble bath was there was because it was on the top shelf and they couldn't reach it.


	4. Pillows and Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow return to the ship in very bad moods.

Prince leaned back in his chair, a book resting on his chest. It seemed a bit unsafe to him that the ship’s only bookshelf was located in the engine room, but it seemed to be fine so far. Prince had always enjoyed reading and he had been a bit dismayed to find that all of the books on the ship were in a strange alien language. Luckily, he and Bow had sat down and managed to translate the basic alphabet. It was slow going but he was also finding it rather satisfying. The ship actually had a large variety of books, ranging from books of space law to collections of fairy tales. He wondered, briefly, if the girls had ever ready any of the law books.

Prince’s thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the automatic doors opening and closing in the main room. The girls must be back, but it was a bit strange. Usually they called for him when they returned, why hadn’t they now? Prince carefully laid down the book, marking his place with a very colorful and obviously hand made bookmark that Hat had produced when he asked for one, and made his way upstairs. He didn’t see the girls in the main room so he made his way to bedroom. He didn’t spot anything at first, but then he saw the top of Hat’s top hat sticking out of the pillow pool.

“Hat?” Prince said softly, “is everything okay?”

“Go away,” Hat sniffled.

Prince spotted some movement in the pillow pool a little way away from Hat. Bow must be hiding in there too. Prince gave a sigh. This wasn’t going to be easy. Prince turned and left the bedroom. When he returned a few minutes later he sat down, carefully, next to Hat.

“Hat? Bow? I can tell something’s wrong. You don’t have to come out if you don’t want to, but maybe you could tell me what’s wrong?” Prince said.

“Mustache Girl,” Bow’s muffled voice came from behind him.

“Mustache Girl?” Prince asked.

From there the story spilled out of them. He had already known that Mustache Girl had been the first friend that the girls had made on this world and he had heard about her… eagerness to fight the mafia. But apparently things had gone south. The girls had agreed to help Mustache confront the Mafia Boss thinking that they could help their friend and find a Time Piece at the same time. And they had been right. They had defeated the Boss and gotten the Time Piece but the Time Piece had been broken in the process. And Mustache Girl, seeing the power of the Time Pieces for the first time, had tried to convince the girls to use Time Pieces to fight the mafia. When the girls refused Mustache Girl had been furious and had, apparently, declared herself their enemy and vowed to collect all the Time Pieces before they could.

Prince sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He understood Mustache Girl’s point of view. When the girls had explained the properties of the Time Pieces to him, he had been tempted. If he could just go back and fix things between him and Vanessa… but no. He could see how easily things could spiral. When would it end? Would he end up going back in time to fix things every time the smallest thing went wrong? And the Time Pieces could do even more than control time. Could he even properly control them? But he was an adult and Mustache Girl was still a child, no matter how confidently she tried to act. He doubted she had thought very long about all of this. 

“I know both of you are very upset about what Mustache Girl did, and you have every right to be. She completely betrayed your trust,” Prince said, “But despite all of that, I think you still care about her.”

This statement was met with silence from the pool pillow. Prince took this as a sign that they were still listening and decided to continue.

“If you didn’t still care about her, you wouldn’t be so upset now. You know how tempting the Time Pieces power can be. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have taken the time to warn me about them, right?” Prince said.

Hat and Bow’s faces peeked out of the pillow pool now, glowing ghostly tears in the corners of their eyes.

“So, I think you need to protect her. I think you need to collect all of the Time Pieces before she can find them and end up hurting herself. And maybe when all of this is over you can talk and be friends again,” Prince said.

“But we can be mad right now?” Bow sniffled.

“Yes,” Prince said as he extended his arms towards them, “you have every right to be mad right now.”

Both girls exploded from the pillow pool and barreled into his chest, knocking him back into the pillows. Their small bodies shook and convulsed as they sobbed and he gingerly wrapped his arms around him. Prince wasn’t sure how long it took, but slowly their sobs stopped and the shaking stilled.

“You know,” Prince whispered, “before I came in here, I asked Cooking Cat to make a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies.”

“Yeah?” Hat said.

“Yeah, and you know what would make them taste even better?” Prince said.

“What?” The girls asked in unison.

“Eating them in a pillow fort,” Prince said.

A while later, Prince ducked down to enter the rather impressive pillow fort with a plate of still steaming chocolate chip cookies. He had been surprised to learn that the girls had never built one before but once he had explained the principle they had been very enthusiastic. Both girls gave little squeals of excitement when they spotted the cookies. Soon, they were both leaning against him as they munched on the cookies. Technically, Prince thought, they should be eating dinner right now but tonight he wouldn’t complain.

“Prince?” Hat asked.

“Yes?” Prince said.

“Do you want to use the Time Pieces?” Hat asked.

“Well,” Prince said after a pause, “I did think about it. I wondered if I could go back and explain things to Vanessa. But I don’t know… even if I did go back, I’m not sure I could fix things between us. I’m not even sure when things went so wrong between us.”

“Yeah,” Bow muttered, “nothing could fix that.”

“What?” Prince said.

“Nothing,” Bow said and she snuggled in closer to his side. 


	5. Dead Bird Studio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince joins Hat and Bow to investigate a new location.

“Prince! Prince!” Bow said as she shook Prince’s shoulders.

Prince blearily opened and his eyes and slowly sat up. He was still in the pillow for and Bow was floating next to him. Hat was nowhere in sight.

“Bow? What’s going on? Where’s Hat?” Prince asked.

“Hat was looking around using the telescope in the engine room and she thinks she found the location of another Time Piece! Come see!” Bow said as she bobbed up and down with excitement.

“Okay, I’m coming,” Prince replied.

Prince quickly ran his fingers through his hair and then crawled out of the pillow fort. He stood, gave a brief stretch, and then followed Bow to the engine room. There, up on a raised platform, was Hat who was looking through a large orange telescope.

“Hat,” Prince said, “did you find something?”

“I think so, come take a look,” Hat said as she floated backwards to make room for Prince.

Prince bent down to look through the telescope. It was focused on a large desert area with a rather large building in the center of it. There was a sign on the building, it took a minute for the telescope to focus long enough for Prince to read it but when it did he stepped back in surprise.

“Dead Bird Studio?” Prince said, “You think a Time Piece landed in a movie studio?”

“It’s a movie studio?” Hat said as she squirmed in excitement.

“Yes, I watched some of their films when I was in college. They produce a lot of them,” Prince explained.

“Oohh this is so cool,” Bow said, “But yeah, we detected a few Time Pieces in the area and since it’s the only big building in the area we think we should check there first.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Prince said.

“Soo… do you want to come with us?” Hat asked.

“Wha… me? Really?” Prince said with a start.

“Really! It sounds like a fun place to visit. We should go together,” Hat said.

“I’d…I’d love to go with you,” Prince said, beaming at the girls.

“Yay!” Bow cried, “But first you need to change.”

“Change?” Prince said.

“Yeah, your clothes kinda stand out. Don’t worry, we grabbed something that will work back in Mafia Town,” Bow said as she steered Prince back towards the bedroom.

When Prince returned, he had swapped out his red silk jacked and ruffled ascot for a knee length olive jacket and a light blue scarf.

“Looking good,” Hat said.

“Thank you, so how do we get down there?” Prince asked.

“Oh that’s easy,” Hat said as she opened a window in the glass, “we jump.”

“Jump?” Prince said as he moved closer to the window, “you must be kidding.”

“Nope,” Bow said as she shoved Prince out the window.

Prince’s scream was lost to the wind as the ground rushed towards him. The air pressure tore against his face and plastered his hair back against his scalp. Just as he thought he was surely going to hit the ground, both of his hands were wrenched backwards and his fall slowed. He looked up to see Hat and Bow each hanging on to his hands with one of their own, their umbrellas raised above them with their other hands. Gently, they drifted to the ground in front of Dead Bird Studio.

“A little warning next time,” Prince said, still shaking slightly from the fall.

“Okay, sure thing,” Bow snickered.

As they made their way into the studio Prince could hear two voices arguing up ahead. Prince motioned for the girls to hide behind him and he could feel their hands gripping his jacket. As they reached the end of the hallway Prince caught sight of the speakers. One was a large penguin with an afro wearing large platform shoes, a sparkling red jacket and star shaped sunglasses. The other, well he thought it was a bird but he wasn’t sure as it had orange feather and a beak but the beak was oddly jaggedly shaped almost like teeth. It was wearing a black suit and a train conductor’s hat. They seemed to be arguing about movies?

“Psst, look,” Hat said.

From behind the penguin and the owl-thing came four smaller penguins and four owls each bearing a large display stand on their backs. Inside the two display stands were six total time pieces.

“You no good dirty peck necks!” the owl-thing yelled, “You copied our props!”

“I would never darling!” the penguin said, “Clearly you’re the one who took inspiration in my flashy new props.”

“That does it! Get outta here with ye, I’ve got a movie to record” the owl thing fumed.

“Fine by me darling. But we’ll be the ones to win the annual bird movie award, mark my word,” the penguin replied.

With that, the penguin retreated past one of the large double doors, the penguins bearing the display stand following after. But once the doors closed, the owl thing went up to the doors and nailed them shut before retreating past the second pair of double doors with his own display stand.

“Who were they?” Bow asked.

“I think that was DJ Grooves and the Conductor,” Prince said, "the two movie directors who film here."

“Who cares, look what I found,” Hat said.

Prince looked over with a start, not realizing Hat had moved out from behind him, and spotted her over by a gashapon machine. She turned around and she was wearing a pair of shades and had two more pairs in her hands. Bow gave a squeal of delight and took one of the pairs from her hand. Prince gave a small sigh and did the same, placing them on his face.

“Nice find Hat,” Bow said as she adjusted her pair.

“Thanks, I think I might have broken it though, it won’t give me any more,” Hat replied.

“How do I look?” Prince asked.

“Ready for a heist,” Hat said with a thumbs up.

“A heist?” Prince asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, since they locked and or barricaded the doors we’re going to have to sneak in,” Hat said as she floated off to investigate the room.

Prince felt an odd feeling rise up in his stomach. This, he thought, was not going to go well.


	6. Inside the Studio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince and the girls sneak through Dead Bird Studio, sort of.

Prince stood awkwardly by the broken gashapon machine, trying not to look directly at the girls as they investigated the room for a way into the studio. Luckily none of the birds milling about the reception rooms seemed to take much notice of him.

“Prince,” Hat loudly whispered.

Prince looked up to see Hat floating on top of one of the nearby displays. She was motioning for him to come join her. With a worried sigh Prince, as casually as possible, walked towards the display. He then climbed on top of bench and hauled himself up onto the display.

“Follow me, we found a way in,” Hat whispered.

Prince followed her across the displays but then hesitated. He could see Bow across the way, floating on a narrow ledge that was above the reception desk but the gap was far to long for him to jump.

“Hat I don’t think I make that,” Prince whispered.

“Just jump on the tv, shimmy across, and then jump to the ledge,” Hat said, “just trust me.”

Prince took a deep breath, steadied himself, and then hopped onto the edge of the tv. Worried the tv wouldn’t hold his weight for long he shimmied along the edge as fast as he could and made the next hop over to the ledge where Bow was waiting.

“See? I knew you could do it. The way you were acting I would have though you’d never done this before,” Hat teased.

“I haven’t,” Prince said as he steadied himself against the wall.

“What? Not even when you were a kid?” Bow asked.

“No, behavior like this wasn’t seen as appropriate for young royals, especially for the son of a duke. I would have been severely punished if I had ever been caught doing something like this,” Prince sighed.

Both girls were quiet for a moment before they shared an odd look with each other.

“Well, I guess you’ve got some years of mischief to catch up on huh?” Bow said, “Let’s get going.”

Hat floated up to a vent cover that was hanging above them. The cover was already loose, it was only hanging by one screw, so it only took one smack from Hat to knock it off. Hat floated into the vent, her small size making it an easy fit.

“Go,” Bow said, “I’ll be right behind you.”

Prince hauled himself up into the vent and, on his hands and knees, crawled after Hat. As he reached the end of the vent, he dropped down beside Hat onto a large metal platform. In the distance he could see an area in the distance that was lit up with spot lights and he could hear voices shouting different instructions. But, before he could notice much else, Prince heard a small dinging noise come from his pocket.

“What was that?” Hat asked.

“I’m not sure,” Prince said as he rummaged around in his pocket.

Quickly, Prince’s hand grasped around a piece of paper that he was certain hadn’t been there before. He pulled it out and quickly unfolded it. The paper was made was out to the three of them and had a series of numbers written on it.

“Is that….?” Bow asked.

“I think it’s a bill,” Prince said, “a bill for breaking and entering.”

“What? You mean they know we’re in here? Is that why no one stopped us? So, they could bill us?” Hat asked.

“Looks like it. They’re also billing us for the broken gashapon machine,” Bow said as she pointed to the top line of the bill.

“Wait a second…if they know all of this does that mean they know what we’re doing now?” Prince asked.

“Hang on a sec,” Hat said.

Hat floated over to a cactus prop that was sitting in the corner and whacked it with her umbrella causing it to fall over. Sure enough, there was another small ding and another line appeared on the bill that read ‘assault on cactus.’

“I don’t know girls,” Prince said, “Maybe we should go back and see if there’s another way to get your time pieces. This is already a very large bill that could take years to pay off and it’s only going to get larger as we go in. Who knows what else they could bill us for?”

“We can’t do that,” Bow said, “those time pieces are way to dangerous to just leave here. And besides once we find them, we can just teleport out of here. They can’t bill us if they can’t find us.”

“Come on, let’s get going,” Hat said as she rushed off into the half darkness of the studio.

Prince groaned but, not wanting to leave the two of them alone, hurried after. The next hour was likely the most labor-intensive hour of his life. The girls led him on a strange winding path through the studio that him climbing on top of crates, hiding in racks of clothing and balancing on pipes. The girls would sometimes even backtrack along even stranger routes in order to grab more pons, hearts and strange glowing balls of yarn that were scattered across the studio. All the while the three of them were trying to avoid patrols of owls and penguins that roamed the hallways although, every once and a while, the girls seemed to take pleasure in popping out to startle them and then running away before they could get caught. In one of the brief moments when they could stop for a moment Prince asked Hat why they only popped out for a moment before running away. Hat gave a grumbling reply about being sent back to the start and Prince decided not to pry further.

At last they reached the back of the studio. Prince took a worried look at the bill. It now included several more charges such as ‘Disturbing Studio Recordings,’ ‘Penguin Harassment,’ ‘Owl Harassment’ and ‘Tampering with Electronics,’ and the total was enough to make Prince’s heart skip a beat. If the studio had any way of forcing them to pay the bill they were doomed and they still hadn’t found any of the time pieces.

“Ohh this looks fancy,” Bow said.

Prince folded the bill back up and rejoined the girls. As he looked around the new area he had to agree with Bow. With the lush, red carpeting and golden decorations this was by far the fanciest area of the studio. Then a voice from up ahead caught his attention.

“Magnificent! Stunning! This trophy is everything I desire…on the shelf in my living room!” DJ Grooves said.

As they got closer Prince could now see DJ Grooves. He was standing in front of a large, golden statue that was surrounded by velvet ropes. He seemed completely unaware of their presence as he danced from side to side.

“Of course, this big trophy is just a plastic replica! The actual trophy is really tiny!” DJ Grooves continued.

Suddenly, DJ Grooves spun around to see the three of them standing behind him.

“Oh my! Oh my! What is that I see? Is it true inner beauty? An innocent soul with a heart of gold?” DJ Grooves asked, “Oh no. It’s just two little girls and a guy. Oh wait, you’re not penguins. That’s good! I could use some non-penguin company around here, as all of my penguins are frankly terrible actors!”

“Did he just complement us and then insult us?” Bow asked.

“Here’s the biz. I need your help. I’m on a terrible loosing streak and I just have to win this next annual bird movie award,” DJ Grooves continued.

Annual bird movie award? Wasn’t that what those two were arguing about in the hallway, Prince thought to himself.

“There’s no doubt; I absolutely MUST have you two as my stars! Here, let me take care of this,” DJ Grooves proclaimed as he snatched the bill out of Prince’s hand and tore it to shreds.

“We need to give you bird passports, darlings. Step right over here,” DJ Grooves said as he showed the girls an old photo station.

Before Prince could protest the girls gave a squeal of delight and, one at a time, stepped up to the booth to have their photos taken.

“Ok, put on a smile and stand still, please. Don’t move!” DJ Grooves said from behind the camera.

With a quick flash of light, it was over. The girls both rushed back over to DJ Grooves.

“Let’s see how the picture turned out,” DJ Grooves said, “WHAA? You moved! How could you! We’ve gotta fix this ugly mugshot up with some old-fashioned photo doctoring! Here, take these markers and turn yourselves into the most stylish, fashionable young ladies.”

The girls took the markers from DJ Grooves and immediately started to scribble all over their photos. Giggling, they even reached over to draw on each other’s photos before handing them back to DJ Grooves.

“Perfect!” DJ Grooves proclaimed, “Now let’s slide these pictures into your passports and…here you go! One passport for you! And one for you!”

Both of the girls held the passports proudly over their heads.

“Wonderful, darlings! Just wonderful! Meet me at the movie set tomorrow and we’ll make you into stars!” DJ Grooves said.

And with that DJ Grooves rushed off down the hallway. Before Prince could say another word a different, bellowing voice echoed through the room.

“HEY! WHACHA THINK YER DOING?” The Conductor said.

The Conductor rushed over to girls, fuming and stamping his feet.

“Yer can’t just jump in and fiddle with the annual bird movie awards! That’s fraud! FRAUD! Hey everyone, we’ve got a FRAUDSTER OVER HERE!” The Conductor screamed, “Where are my owl guards at?! Why are owls so darn useless?!”

The Conductor paused for a moment as if considering something.

“Alright listen here lassies! Yer in big trouble! If you’re helping crooked DJ Grooves rig the awards, and I can’t take yer to jail, then yer gonna help me even the score,” the Conductor said, “That’s right, yer both gotta be the stars of my movies too! Here hold our newest prop, practice showing it off, and bring it to my movie set tomorrow! Yer got that? Don’t be late!”

With that the Conductor produce a shining time piece, shoved it into Hat’s hands and stalked out the door. Oh no, the Prince groaned internally, things just got a whole lot more complicated.


	7. The Divas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls go to shoot DJ Grooves first movie.

Back on the ship the girls were chattering excitedly to each other about the upcoming movies. At the very least they seemed to have forgotten about Mustache Girl for the moment. Prince looked down at their bird passports that were resting on the desk and had to smother a giggle. Bow’s picture had stars scribbled all over the border and four extra bows had been added to her hair. However, he guessed this was Hat’s contribution, she also had a rather evil looking go-tee on her face. Hat, on the other hand, had hearts around her border and a fancy looking feather had been added to her top hat. But Bow had added red circles to her cheeks and placed a large eyepatch over her left eye. Prince wasn’t sure why DJ Grooves had called these pictures ‘perfect’ but it was obvious the girls had had fun making them so he supposed it didn’t matter.

“Prince!” the girls cried as they rushed over to him.

“Hey! Did you decide which movie you’re going to shoot first?” Prince asked.

“Yeah,” Hat said, “We want to start with DJ Grooves movie.”

“He was way nicer then the Conductor,” Bow added.

“That’s true,” Prince mused, “Are you going to shoot them both in a row? You know you’ll have to do two movies for each of them you know.”

“We do?” Bow asked.

“Yes, that’s how the annual bird movie awards work. Each director shoots two movies and each movie gets a score. Then the two scores are added up and whichever director has the highest overall score wins the award,” Prince explained.

“I guess we could alternate between the two of them,” Hat said.

“But we’re still starting with DJ Grooves,” Bow said.

“Oh, definitely,” Hat said.

“Are you coming with us to shoot the movie?” Bow asked.

“Oh, uh, I don’t know,” Prince said, “I mean, DJ Grooves never gave me a bird passport. Do you think it would be okay?”

“Yeah!” the girls chorused.

“Alright, alright, let’s go,” Prince said.

The girls picked up their passports and headed back to the engine room. They both smirked in Prince’s direction as they opened up the hatch and Prince shot them both a glare before leaping out the window on his own. Even though he was prepared this time it didn’t make the drop any less terrifying and he still let out a sigh of relief when the girls caught him.

Luckily the receptionist owl didn’t ask to see their passports and simply waved them into the studio. Prince guessed that word must have already gotten out about DJ Grooves and the Conductors newest stars. As they stepped onto the set all three of them let out gasps of surprise. The set had been transformed into a bustling metropolis with sky high apartment buildings and penguins milling on every corner. Prince could hardly believe that this was the same set they had snuck onto just the day before. Off in the distance Prince could see DJ Grooves up on a bright red stage.

“Welcome to the first day of shooting, darlings!” DJ Grooves exclaimed as they approached, “Wait a moment, who is this with you?”

“This is Prince! Is it okay if he stays and watches the shoot?” Hat asked.

DJ Grooves danced in place for a moment as he considered his answer and Prince had to marvel at how easily he moved in his massive platform shoes.

“I guess that’s alright darlings. Just be sure to stay behind the cameras my Prince man, you stand out a little too much from all my penguins. You dig?” DJ Grooves replied.

“Ah, yes, of course. Good luck girls,” Prince said.

Prince sidled over to the nearest camera and stood behind it. He then turned and gave the girls a thumbs up sign. They both gave him a thumbs up in return and then climbed onto stage with DJ Grooves.

“Continuing on, we need to transform you both into the biggest movie stars the bird world has ever seen! You need to become…divas!” DJ Grooves announced, “That’s why I’ve called for a press conference here on our moon set. You need to get out there in front of the cameras and electrify the public darlings! Get ‘em really up and going for your movies.”

That logic seemed a bit backwards to Prince. Why was DJ Grooves shooting a press conference? Wasn’t the movie and the press conference supposed to be two different things? Nevertheless he remained silent as DJ Grooves continued.

“Once you’ve got them going crazy, come back here and we’ll show off our new prop! That’s right, we’ll unveil our new movie prop to the masses!” DJ Grooves explained.

With that, the girls shot off into the crowd. Prince could barely keep track of them as they wove through the crowd, cameras flashing everywhere they went. Suddenly he heard DJ Grooves voice from over by the fountain.

“You called darling? Looks like its endorsement time!” DJ Grooves said as he appeared next to Bow, “All you penguins know my name… DJ Grooves! And I’m telling you this young girl here is the next hot thing! Guaranteed! Just look, as she’ll climb up this statue and rescue the poor puppy that has gotten stuck. Right, darling?”

Immediately, Bow raced up the statue to what looked to be a picture of a puppy painted on a piece of wood. But as she reached the top she smacked the puppy prop and it tumbled to the ground with a loud crash.

“Look at that!” DJ Grooves exclaimed seemingly completely unfazed, “She helped that puppy down safe and sound! Too bad it ran off, and definitely didn’t break into multiple pieces. This is truly a diva I can get behind. Let it be known that this lil’ girl is all about animals! Make sure you join her fanclub! DJ Grooves…out!”

With that Bow raced back off into the crowd only for Prince to hear DJ Groove’s voice coming from one of the rooftops above him. How did that penguin move so fast?

“You called darling? Looks like its endorsement time!” DJ Grooves said from beside Hat, “All you penguins know my name… DJ Grooves! And I’m telling you this young girl here is the next hot thing! Guaranteed! Watch as she beats these hard-boiled card players at their own game, on her first try!”

Prince strained as he tried to get a good look at the balcony where DJ Groove and Hat were. There was a large nest up there but he couldn’t see much else from the ground. Was he asking Hat to play poker? Surely not.

“This game is easy to understand darling. You just guess which number of the card the other player is holding, from 1 to 10. Which card do you think he’s holding, darling?” DJ Grooves asked.

“6!” Hat announced.

“Wow! Fantastic! Incredible! The answer is indeed 6! Folks at home you have just witnessed the stunning intuition of a true start!” DJ Grooves proclaimed, “Make sure you join her fanclub! DJ Grooves…out!”

This continued with the girls racing around the crowd, getting their pictures taken, and summoning DJ Grooves to different parts of the set until the roar of the crowd was overwhelming. Finally, DJ Grooves called them back to the stage.

“The audience is going crazy, darling! Come over here and show off our new stunner… our new prop!” DJ Grooves said.

The girls raced back to the stages and leapt up to snatch the time piece out of the air. They waved the time piece over their heads as the cheers of the crowd threatened to deafen Prince. The first movie shoot was over.


	8. The Train

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Prince and the girls arrive on the set of the Conductor's first film.

The next day found Prince and the girls touching down on the second movie set later in the afternoon. Prince wasn’t sure how the girls had managed to land on the back end of a moving train but somehow they had managed it. The Conductor was leaning up against the back railing, apparently waiting for them.

“Welcome back lassies! Wait… hold on a minute…I don’t recall given yer permission to bring guests,” The Conductor growled.

“This is Prince,” Hat said.

“He’s uhh…” Bow said.

“Your guardian?” The Conductor asked.

“Yeah!” both of the girls exclaimed.

“Hmmm well I suppose its fine since he’s already here. But I don’t want to see him here again! And don’t go causing trouble today!” The Conductor said.

“Of course sir,” Prince said.

“Right. Anyways I haven’t written the script for me next movie yet, so we’re not recording. I’ll call for yer when the script is ready,” The Conductor explained.

“Okay, we’ll just be inside then,” Hat said as she opened the door to the train.

“Kinda weird he asked us to be down here today when he hasn’t even got a script,” Bow muttered as she followed Hat.

Prince followed after the girls and closed the door behind them. The inside of the train car was dimly lit with most of the light coming in through the small windows on the side of the car. The few hanging lights seemed to be very old and didn’t help much. On the left was a massive coal powered furnace which Prince wonder what it was doing back here as, traditionally, the furnace that powered the train should be located in front. Prince’s musings were interrupted as they were approached by a lanky figure in a tan trench coat and fedora. As it got closer Prince spotted a long black beak peeking out from under the fedora.

“As you can tell, I am also an Express Owl. I do much hooting,” the figure said, “From one owl to another, we can share details, yes? What is your uncles, sisters, maiden name?”

“Uhhh Ulga,” Bow said.

“Oh, it is Ulga? I see, I see. This is the kind of uncles, sisters, maiden name I would expect from a fellow express owl,” the figure said.

“Is it really Ulga?” Hat asked as they walked away from the figure.

“No, it’s just the first name I thought of,” Bow said, “what was that anyways, he doesn’t look like an owl.”

“I think he’s a crow,” Prince said.

As they continued through the train cars the three of them kept being stopped by more and more crows in trench coats asking bizarre questions from their favorite combination of numbers and letters to one crow that asked them to solve a mathematical equation they had on a blackboard that didn’t look like any equation that Prince had ever seen. Finally, after moving through several cars they made it to the front of the train.

“Hey look! It’s a present!” Hat exclaimed.

“Wait, you don’t know who that’s for,” Prince said.

“It says ‘to the two lassies’ on the tag,” Hat said.

“Oh, I suppose that is you,” Prince sighed.

The girls tore apart the wrapping paper and opened the lid. Out of the box they pulled two checkered hats and capes.

“What are these?” Bow asked.

“That looks like a deerstalker cap,” Prince said, “detectives used to wear them in old movies. Maybe they’re supposed to be your costumes?”

“Detective costumes? Wait, does this mean the Conductors movie is a…” Hat said.

Hat’s thought was interrupted by the nearby telephone ringing. Bow picked up the receiver and an odd, distorted voice filled the car.

“Is this the kids with the hats? I hope you like my present… he, he, he, he,” the voice said, “Go to the back of the train. Your uncle’s sister Ulga has come to visit you. You better show your fam some love or I’ll be talking to a corpse next time.”

“What the...what was that!?” Hat exclaimed.

“I don’t know but it sounds like we better get to the back of the train,” Bow said.

The three of them rushed back through the train cars and skidded to a halt in the last car. Standing before them was a strange scene. A wooden cutout of an old women wearing a long scarf over her head was standing in front of an express owl laying on the ground. The express owl had a knife sticking out of his back and there was a pool of red liquid surrounding it.

“A…a murder?! ON MY OWL EXPRESS?!” The Conductor screamed.

Suddenly the Conductor was beside the girls and a group of express owls gathered at the side of their fallen comrade.

“I can’t believe someone would murder one of the Express Owls! And I can’t believe even more that it’s your uncle’s sister Ulga! What do you have to say for yerself Ulga?” The Conductor asked the cutout.

The cutout, of course, did not reply.

“Yer givin’ me the silent treatment, eh?! That’s what a murder would do!” The conductor exclaimed.

“Leave this case to us,” another voice interjected.

The Prince turned to see a great flock of crows, all wearing matching trench coats and fedoras.

“We’re CAW, the Crow Agent Watch. We’ve been monitoring everyone on this train since the last station,” the crows said in unison, “We’ll be searching the entire train for evidence. No one is allowed outside of this wagon.”

“What?! I can’t even walk around in me own train?! How dare yer!” The Conductor exclaimed.

“Once the clock hits midnight, we’ll get off at the station with the murder in cuffs,” The crows said, ignoring the Conductors protests, “Stay here while we investigate further.”

With that the crows left the car and everyone was left standing in silence.

“What was all of that? What are we supposed to be doing?” Hat asked quietly.

“Well, this is just a hunch, but I think you have to investigate,” Prince whispered.

“Investigate the ‘murder?’” Bow inquired.

“Yes, and you can’t get caught by those crows,” Prince said.

“But how do we know what we’re looking for?” Hat asked with a huff.

“Well the Conductor isn’t the most subtle person in the world. I think you’ll know it when you see it,” Prince said.

“Wait, the Conductor left stuff for us to find?” Hat said.

“Most likely. Now hurry, considering when we left I think you only have an hour,” Prince said.

“You aren’t coming with us?” Bow asked.

“No, it’ll be easier for you to sneak around without me,” Prince explained.

The girls paused for a moment longer, gave small nods, and then headed out through the door that lead towards the front of the train.


	9. The Murderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow announce the murderer

Prince waited in the rear train car with the Conductor and the express owls. Everything was tense as they watched the minutes on the clock tick by. To Prince’s surprise, the ‘murdered’ express owl remained face down in the pool of ‘blood’ the entire time.

“So,” the Conductor said, startling Prince, “I suppose I should thank ye for getting those lassies on track.”

“Oh, ah, it was nothing,” Prince responded.

“So how did ye figure it out so quickly? Me set up I mean,” the Conductor asked.

“I watched some of your movies back when I was in college. You have a very…uh…distinctive style,” Prince said.

The Conductor nodded, apparently satisfied with Prince’s answer.

“My decision still stands though. I don’t want to see yer face on me set again. Me set is no place for the average civilian,” The Conductor said.

“That’s understandable,” Prince said.

Finally, the clock hit twelve and the Conductor moved to the phone.

“So, who dun it?!” The Conductor yelled into the receiver. 

A few moments later both of the girls rushed back into the train car with stacks of tan folders in their arms. They stood before the Conductor who was standing in front of the furnace. To their left was ‘Ulga’ and the express owls. To their right, the CAW agents.

“We don’t know,” replied the CAW agents, “We couldn’t find any conclusive evidence. We have no idea who murdered this owl.”

“What? So you’ve done peck all to solve the case!?” the Conductor yelled.

Prince flinched slightly. Really, the Conductor could be a little more sensitive to the fact he had children present.

“Who’s the murder? Which one of you did it?!” the Conductor continued.

“It’s…you Conductor!” Hat exclaimed, holding one of the folders over her head.

“…ME?!” the Conductor screamed, “I can’t be the murderer! I’m the Conductor!”

Everyone silently stared at the Conductor.

“What? Seriously, what? It wasn’t me!” the Conductor protested, “Stop. Cut it out…ALRIGHT FINE! It was me. I did it. There, yer happy? How’d you figure out it was me? I tried really hard to avoid being the villain in me own movie. The Express Owl isn’t even dead, I just gave him the rubber knife and asked him to play dead for a few hours.”

“Yeah, can I go now? I’m kinda sore from playing dead for so long,” the Express Owl said, “This rubber knife is also a bit uncomfortable.”

At that the rest of the Express Owls broke out laughing and the tension broke. The Express Owls and the CAW agents broke their positions and mingled together. The shoot was over.

"Well, thanks for solving the murder lassie. Not only did you reveal the murderer, you also revealed that the victim was never harmed...And you gave us intense footage for the movie!" the Conductor said, "What? You think I'd let a murder happen on MY owl express? Think again! It was all just a setup for my newest Owl Express movie: Murder on the Owl Express! You think DJ Peck Neck will make a movie that's even remotely as good! I think not! Here, take this thingamajig and get out of here."

With that the Conductor released the glowing Time Piece and it floated into the air. Bow took a flying leap and snatched it out of the air. Then Prince and the girls exited out the back door and Bow pressed the remote that returned them to the ship. Back on the ship Prince gave a sigh of relief.

“So, did you two have fun playing detective?” Prince asked.

“Yeah!” the girls chorused.

“We had to sneak around the CAW agents!” Hat exclaimed.

“And collect all of the evidence files!” Bow added.

“Which were hidden ALL over the train,” Hat said.

“Even in the luggage car,” Bow giggled.

“And we had to find SO many keys,” Hat groaned.

“Sounds pretty complicated,” Prince said, “how did you figure out who the murderer was?”

“We didn’t,” Bow said, “the Conductor left it up to us.”

“He did?” Prince asked with one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, the files were just props. There wasn’t any actual evidence in them. I think, as long as we had a file to show, we could have said anyone was the murder,” Bow explained.

“So why did you choose the Conductor?” Prince asked.

The girls both stared at him, bobbing slightly in the air.

“Ah. Right. He’s rude,” Prince said, “well how about we take a break and wait for the movies to come in? I think DJ Grooves is sending us a copy of his movie as well. We can make a movie night of it.”

The girls cheered and Bow rushed off towards the kitchen to, most likely, grab a snack. Prince sat down in the captain’s chair and Hat bobbed next to him.

“So which movie are you most excited to see?” Prince asked.

“I don’t know,” Hat replied, “they were both fun to shoot, despite the Conductor.”

Prince chuckled slightly at that. It was true that the Conductor was pushy and demanding but there was a reason that he kept winning those awards. He couldn’t be all bad. Prince’s thoughts were interrupted by Bow crashing through the kitchen doors and almost running into the railing.

“Bow? Are you okay?” Prince asked.

“Umm, yeah, so you remember how we promised we wouldn’t look at Mafia Town for a while?” Bow said.

“Yeah…” Hat replied.

“Well, I couldn’t help it…I peeked. And Mafia Town is on fire,” Bow said.

“Fire?!” Prince yelled.

“Well, more specifically lava. It’s being drowned in lava,” Bow said.

Prince groaned into his hands. He didn’t like the sound of this at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I played the game I really wanted to accuse the Conductor but I never found his file. It probably would have helped if I had realized that the keys respawn in the same spots a bit sooner.


	10. Another Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finds another intruder on the ship

“What do you mean drowning in lava?” Prince asked.

“Well, remember how we told you Mafia Town is on an island? So it’s surrounded by this gorgeous ocean?” Bow said.

“Right,” Prince replied.

“Well now all of that ocean has been replaced with lava,” Bow explained.

“How is that possible?” Prince asked.

“How would I know?” Bow replied.

“Right. Sorry. It’s just how on earth are we going to fix this?” Prince sighed.

“Do we have to?” Hat asked, “They’ve been awfully mean to us. They threw cans at us and their boss tried to electrocute us and flatten us!”

Prince paused for a moment and then turned to Hat. He got down on his knees and looked her directly in the eyes.

“Look I know it’s hard to want to help some people, especially when they’ve been mean to you. But if you leave things the way they sound down there, you’re probably dooming those mafia men to a pretty terrible death. And I can say from personal experience that no one deserves that,” Prince said.

Hat lowered her eyes and Prince could see a yellow blush forming on her cheeks.

“And what I’ve also learned is that, in most cases at least, when you’re nice to people you’re going to get a lot of nice back. So who knows? Maybe if you do this for them they might change their outlook on life. At least a little bit,” Prince said, “So how about it? Can you go down there and be the hero I know you are?”

“Well,” Hat said as she puffed her chest out, “when you put it like that I guess we have to go give it a try. Bow are you in?”

“Of course! Besides all that hero stuff, we can’t let the island sink before we recover the other Time Pieces still down there,” Bow said.

“Oh yeah. I forgot about that,” Hat replied, “Prince you gotta stay here though. We’re more fireproof then you are.”

“Alright, I’ll stay out of the way,” Prince said as he raised his hands in surrender.

Prince watched as the girls floated off towards the kitchen and felt a nervous lump form in his stomach. Had he done the right thing by convincing them to go try and save the island? It sounded incredibly dangerous, even more so then the other missions the girls had gone on. He sank back into the captain’s chair just as Cooking Cat came out of the kitchen.

“I saw those two heading back to Mafia Town. Did something happen?” Cooking Cat asked.

“Apparently Mafia Town is filling up with lava,” Prince said.

“Lava? That’s impossible! Unless… maybe someone tampered with the faucets?” Cooking Cat mused.

“Faucets?” Prince asked.

“Well there’s a volcano underneath the island but the lava is controlled by a series of faucets around the island. All you have to do is turn one on every now and then to let off some of the pressure and everything is fine, but if you turned them all on at once…” Cooking Cat said.

“Then all the girls need to do is turn them back off and everything will be fine, right?” Prince asked.

“I guess so,” Cooking Cat said, “but I can see you’re still worried. Do you want to help me make dinner? Take your mind off things?”

“Yeah, I think I’d like that,” Prince said.

For the next few hours Cooking Cat taught Prince how to chop vegetables down into little tiny pieces that were so small the girls wouldn’t notice them hidden in their food. She also entertained Prince with stories of her years in Mafia Town and all her attempts to teach the poor mafia men how to cook. The chili had finally been set to stew when Prince heard the girls return. A few seconds later the doors to the kitchen swung open to reveal two slightly singed and rather annoyed ghosts.

“You’re never going to believe this!” Bow cried.

“It was Mustache Girl! She turned all of the lava faucets onto full blast!” Hat exclaimed.

“Whoa, slow down. Are you two okay?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, it was just really hot down there,” Bow groaned.

“You poor things, let me get you some lemonade,” Cooking Cat said.

The girls and Prince sat down at the counter and Cooking Cat poured all of them glasses of bright pink lemonade. The girls gulped them down gratefully and let out satisfied sighs.

“So is the island still in one piece?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, we got all of the faucets turned off and the water came back right away,” Bow said.

“Oh, and you’ll never believe this! The mafia men threw us a big party! With a huge buffet! And they even gave us another Time Piece!” Hat exclaimed, “I guess you might have been right about them.”

“A little gratitude can go a long way,” Prince said.

“So I suppose after that huge buffet you’ll be too full for the dinner I made?” Cooking Cat asked.

“No!” the girls chorused, “We’re never too full for your cooking!”

“Now don’t force yourselves,” Cooking Cat chuckled, “We can always store it and reheat it tomorrow.

Any further conversation about dinner was interrupted by a blaring siren and flashing lights.

“What is this?” Cooking Cat yelled.

“The intruder alarm!” Bow yelled.

“It’s coming from the engine room! Come on!” Hat yelled.

The five of them rushed to the engine room but were stopped in their tracks by the sight of the intruder. Which was a jar. Full of purple liquid. That had a pair of eyes and a rather large nose floating in it. And was wearing a rather large top hat.

“So… we meet again. My arch nemesis!” the jar said.

“Who…?” Bow asked.

“WHAT?! You don’t remember me?! How rude!” the jar cried, “It’s me, Boss of the Mafia! You two blew me up in our little indiscretion and your young “friend” captured my remains in this jar! I’m without a body! I should be furious. But, it is okay. I’ll accept your new friend’s carcass as an apology.”

With that the Mafia Boss, somehow, launched himself into the air clearly aiming for Prince. But Hat easily smacked him out of the air with her umbrella, sending the jar clanging against the wall. The Mafia Boss righted himself, fuming.

“YOU WON’T HAND HIM OVER?! The nerve on such small children. If I had hands, I would slap you! I’ll just buy a new body then. There has to be some poor soul out there who would trade his corpse for money,” The Mafia Boss huffed.

Suddenly there was a puff of smoke and when it cleared the Mafia Boss was sitting on top of a sales stand of some sort.

“I may not look like it right now, but I’m well-travelled. I know the whereabouts of all the secrets on this planet! Buy my map badge and I will show you where you can find relics that will make you rich!” the Mafia Boss proclaimed.

Oh dear, Prince thought, this ship just got a whole lot livelier.


	11. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince and the girls have a movie night.

Prince re-entered the bedroom with a large bowel of popcorn balanced in one hand and a tray with three root beer floats in the other. He knew that having caffeine this late in the afternoon wasn’t necessarily good for kids but they had just received their copies of the new movies and the girls deserved a night off.

“Popcorn!” the girls screamed as they hurtled towards Prince.

“Wait! Don’t make me drop it!” Prince yelled.

Both girls skidded to a halt in front of him and then bobbed in front of him, their eyes expectant.

“Okay, okay,” Prince laughed, “You can take the bowl.”

Prince carefully let the girls take the bowl and the girls skittered off towards the carefully placed pile of pillows that had been placed in the center of the room. A large projector was set up behind the pillows. Prince joined them and carefully placed the root beer floats on the ground in front of them. Bow took a remote out of the pillow pile and clicked one of the buttons. Slowly, a projector screen emerged from the wall.

“Which one should we watch first?” Prince asked.

“Picture Perfect!” the girls chorused.

“I thought so,” Prince chuckled.

Prince slid the first film roll out of its case and hooked it up to the projector. He carefully turned the projector and the projector clicked to life. Bow pressed another button on the remote and the lights in the bedroom dimmed. The title of the movie, ‘Picture Perfect’, slid across the screen.

Twenty minutes into the movie Prince could see the girls squirming. He was sure that it was partially due to the root beer moustaches that now coated their lips but it likely had more to do with the movie. Although the movie was fast paced, it showed the girls racing from scene to scene and interacting with the moon penguins, it didn’t have much of a plot. And it was struggling to hold the attention of two twelve-year-olds.

“So, what did you think?” Prince asked as the credits rolled.

“I…liked the photos,” Bow said quietly.

“It’s okay, you can say didn’t like it. You can like DJ Grooves and not like his movies,” Prince said.

“Well, that doesn’t mean that the Conductors movie is any better!” Hat protested.

“Well, how about we find out?” Prince asked.

They both nodded their heads vigorously.

“Okay, how about you two grab some more popcorn from Cooking Cat and I’ll set up the film,” Prince said.

Prince chuckled as the girls scurried off towards the kitchen. He remembered the Conductor’s films from his days in college. The girls were in for an unfortunate surprise. He was just finishing putting Murder on the Owl Express in when the girls returned with another bowl of popcorn and another round of root beer floats.

“Are you two ready?” Prince asked.

“Let’s get this over with,” Hat said.

“Yeah, it’s only fair we watch both,” Bow said, “I mean it can’t be that bad. We are in it.”

Prince started up the film and the girls settled into the pillows. Ten minutes in and Prince could already see the difference. The girls were sitting up straight, their eyes were glued to the screen. Prince struggled to hold back a laugh. The movie was definitely one of the Conductors. It had plot and intrigue and it was definitely exciting. The girls fell into an uncomfortable silence as the credits rolled.

“So? What did you think?” Prince asked.

“…I don’t get it,” Hat said.

“Get what?” Prince said.

“…it’s…it’s…” Hat stammered.

“It’s so much better!” Bow cried, “But how? How could someone so crabby make such a good movie?!”

“Just because someone isn’t nice doesn’t mean they aren’t good at what they do,” Prince said, “It’s okay if you like a person’s work but don’t like the person that made it.”

“I guess,” Hat said as she bobbed in place.

“I still don’t want him to win the award though,” Bow said.

“Well, I guess you’ll just have make DJ Groove’s second movie extra special,” Prince said, “which if I remember correctly is tomorrow afternoon. So, I think you two should get ready for bed so you’re all rested for tomorrow.”

“Agreed. We’re going to make it perfect!” Hat declared.

“Come on Hat!” Bow said from her position by the door.

Prince sighed to himself as he picked up the dishes and headed back towards the kitchen. He really hoped the girls weren’t going to end up disappointed. There was only so much they could do to improve DJ Groove’s movie. After all, a film was only as good as it’s script and as far as he could remember DJ Grooves had only beaten the Conductor once at the annual bird movie awards. Well, he supposed that this would be learning experience either way. And he would be there for them when it was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While playing I found that while I personally liked DJ Groove's personality better I had the most fun filming Murder on the Owl Express far more then the other movies.


	12. The Parade Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow begin shooting DJ Grooves second movie.

“Prince! Prince!” Hat shrieked.

Prince gasped as Hat bounced up and down on his chest, shrieking in excitement.

“Hang on…hang on Hat…I need… to breathe,” Prince said.

“Oh…right,” Hat said as she stilled her bouncing.

“So…what’s all the excitement about?” Prince asked as he caught his breath.

“DJ Groove’s second movie is filming today!” Hat squealed as she started to squirm again, “and since he’s not a grumpy stick in the mud, you can come with us!”

“Ah, that’s right. Well, we better have a good breakfast before we get going,” Prince said.

Prince slid out of the bed and followed Hat into the kitchen. Cooking cat was busy by the stove, a tantalizing scent filling the kitchen. Bow was sitting on the stool, spinning excitedly in circles.

“Hey now, you don’t want to make yourself sick before your big movie,” Prince laughed.

“I know,” Bow said as her spinning slowed, “It’s just so hard to keep still.”

“It’s good to have energy,” Cooking Cat said, “Here, this will help you keep that energy for your productions today.”

Cooking Cat turned around with three plates balanced on her arms. Each one held a large omelet with bits of vegetables mixed in. Bow and Hat both gave squeaks of delight and took their plates from Cooking Cat. Prince took his as well as Hat and Bow started to dig in.

“I see you’ve gotten better at getting them to eat their vegetables,” Prince said softly.

“It’s easier than you think,” Cooking Cat replied, “To be honest I’m not sure that they have vegetables like ours on their planet.”

Prince nodded and then turned to join the girls. Even in their ghostly forms it was easy to forget that they were aliens as well. The food in their refrigerator when he and Cooking Cat had first arrived had been…questionable. Although, he was never quite sure if that was common for cuisine on their planet or simply the result of two children having full run of a kitchen for probably the first time. After finishing their food, they thanked Cooking Cat and headed back to the bedroom. After changing and readying themselves they headed for the telescope.

The scene they arrived to on the moon was even more chaotic then the last time. They landed on the top of a tall building and they could see that the moon penguins were packed so tightly together they could hardly see the ground. The moon penguins only parted every now and then to let one of three massive parade floats pass through. DJ Grooves stood before them, swaying and spinning as usual. Behind him a group of owls stood, each one carrying a different instrument.

“Hello Darlings! Welcome to the largest studio set you’ll ever see!” DJ Grooves said, “We’re about to start recording The Big Parade, the movie that’ll take the breath away from audiences worldwide! You’ll both be the stars, as always.”

A parade, that explained the crowd and all of the floats, Prince thought.

“For this movie we’ll need to use our special prop! It’ll pop out at the very end!” DJ Grooves explained as he gestured to a large disco ball that was floating in the air, “But wait darlings, your current outfits really aren’t fit for a parade. Can you go over there and get dressed?”

The girls looked around and spotted the present box that was sitting on the ground. They rushed over and tore away the paper. Then they paused, and turned to DJ Grooves.

“DJ Grooves, there’s only one outfit!” the girls chorused.

“What?!” DJ Grooves cried.

“Sorry Boss,” one of the moon penguins said, “the costume department couldn’t get another outfit together in time.”

“That’s a shame then Darlings. You’ll have to choose who gets the outfit then,” DJ Grooves sighed.

The girls looked at each other for a moment before Bow handed the tall red hat to Hat.

“Here, you look better in a top hat then me,” Bow said.

“Are you sure?” Hat asked.

“Of course, I’ll help from the sidelines,” Bow said.

Hat nodded and donned the red hat that had an odd white bird’s face and tall red feather on it. She also put on the red jacket that had a white chest and gold epaulettes on the shoulders.

“You look great, darling! Don’t worry, this movie is really easy. Keep moving around and the band will follow you! Just don’t bump into them!” DJ Grooves said, “And keep an eye out for goodies! The audience loves a good parade and will throw treats your way if you get near them. The parade lasts a while; nothing you can do to speed it up. We’ll let you know when we’ve got enough footage. Don’t lose spirit!”

With those words DJ Grooves gave a mighty leap that really shouldn’t have been possible in those platforms and landed on a platform that had several instruments and sound mixing equipment.

“Good luck darling!” DJ Grooves yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated this movie so much. The owl band killed me so many times by knocking me down into the crowd. But that won't stop me from writing this well, I promise.


	13. The Big Parade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow navigate DJ Grooves second movie

The band behind Hat struck up a jaunty, bouncing tune and Hat took off across the rooftops. Then Prince was momentarily blinded as the rooftops lite up along with various spotlights across the entire set. When the spots faded from his vision he realized that the air was filled with multicolored confetti that swirled through the air around him.

Prince got as close to the edge of the rooftop as he dared and tried to see if he could spot the girls. Hat was the easiest to spot with her now bright red jacket and hat along with the entourage of owls now following her every move. He was mesmerized as she seemed to rocket from rooftop to rooftop. His stomach dropped for a moment when he thought she wouldn’t make it only for her to balance on a nearly invisible electrical wire and go bounding off to another rooftop. She made it look so effortless, almost like she was flying.

Bow was much harder to spot. He could swear he caught glimpses of her green, glowing form but he couldn’t be sure with all of the lights and confetti filling the air. But what could she be doing while Hat was leading the band?

“It’s time to turn up the heat up in this movie!” DJ Grooves yelled into the mic, “Darling, can you turn on the pyrotechnics?”

This couldn’t be fair, Prince thought, how was Hat supposed to do that while also focusing on leading the band? Then, from the corner of his eye, Prince saw one of giant switches spinning around. That couldn’t be right though. Hat was still on the other side of parade route. Prince turned for a better look and saw a familiar green form moving across the rooftops towards the switch. Of course! Bow would take care of all of the extra tasks while Hat led the parade!

As Bow hit the last switch a giant countdown was projected onto the rooftop Prince was on. As it hit zero, giant sparklers went off on each corner of the rooftop and sent bright white sparks flying everywhere. Prince was momentarily blinded and he had to cover his face to protect himself from the sparks.

“This movie needs more action!” DJ Grooves voice boomed out from over the speakers, “Darling, turn on the firework cannons for the big firework show!”

Prince saw three new red spot lights turn on, each one on top of the floats that were still moving slowly through the crowd. This was going to be much harder, Prince thought, as the floats were moving targets. But just like before, Bow leapt easily across the rooftops towards the floats while Hat kept the crowds attention with the band.

As the last button was pushed the parade floats suddenly started launching red and yellow firework rockets through the air that seemed to fly dangerously close to rooftops before exploding into great balls of yellow sparks. Prince looked nervously for Hat but he spotted her still dancing across the rooftops, seemingly unfazed by the new obstacles that were whizzing through the sky.

“Time to release the parade surprise! Grab it Darlings!” DJ Grooves yelled excitedly.

The giant yellow disco ball split in two, releasing the Time Piece into the air where is hovered just a few feet off the ground. With perfect timing Hat and Bow met each other on the rooftop and leapt for the Time Piece! The caught it together and held it triumphantly in the air. DJ Groove’s second movie was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never actually played A Hat in Time co-op style so I'm making some assumptions about how it would work.


	14. A Nighttime Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince has a conversation with Bow.

“AAAUUUGGGHHH”

Prince bolted upright in bed, his sleep interrupted by the loud scream that had just cut through the air. Blearily he shook his head to try and clear the fog from his brain. The lights on the ship were still dim so that meant it was still technically night time. He looked to his right and saw that Hat was still in bed. She muttered softly, apparently slightly aware of the movement next to her but too stubborn to wake up. He looked to his left but Bow wasn’t there.

“GGRAAAAAAHHHH”

Another scream. Prince swung himself out of bed and made his way towards the central living room. It hadn’t sounded like the screams were far away so they probably weren’t in the kitchen. He decided to check the engine room first. The doors swished open and Prince tried to ignore the nervous pounding of his heart. Entering the engine room it was easy to spot Bow as her body was letting off the soft green glow it always did when she was awake. She was floating in the corner with Jar Boss in her hands.

“Ah, Bow?” Prince asked.

Bow startled slightly at the sound of his voice. Apparently she hadn’t noticed his entrance.

“Oh. Prince. I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” Bow asked.

“I’m not sure,” Prince said, “Was that you screaming?”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t the one screaming. I just came down here to relieve a little stress,” Bow said.

“Relieve stress how?” Prince asked.

“Like this,” Bow said.

Bow held Jar Boss up in the air for a second and then started to shake it vigorously while Jar Boss let out another scream of protest. Then she stopped and stared, almost like she was hypnotized by the swirling jelly like contents of the jar.

“It’s very relaxing,” Bow said as the contents of the jar came to a standstill.

“Bow… while I do feel bad that you’re stressed maybe it’s not the best idea to take it out on Jar Boss,” Prince said slowly.

“Why not?” Bow asked, “He was mean to us and he even tried to steal your body. This is just justice.”

“Yes, but do you think he’s learning anything from you doing this to him?” Prince asked.

“No,” Bow said hesitantly.

“So, for whose benefit are you doing this?” Prince asked.

“Mine, I guess,” Bow said as she squirmed uncomfortably.

“When Mafia Boss was mean to you and attacked you before, do you think he was doing that for anyone else’s benefit? Or was he doing it for himself?” Prince asked.

“Himself, I think,” Bow said.

“So when you hurt Jar Boss, are you acting like the amazingly kind young women I know you are? Or are you acting like him?” Prince said.

Bow floated silently for a moment before letting out a soft sniffle. Prince quickly walked over to her and, after taking Jar Boss out of her hands and setting him back on his sales cart, gathered Bow up in his arms.

“Am I a bad person?” Bow asked.

“No sweetheart, I don’t think you are,” Prince said softly, “You just have to remember something for me, okay? Being in a position of power over others in never a bad thing but you have to be careful how you use that power. If you aren’t, then what you perceive as justice can easily become cruelty. So please, always be careful and always be kind.”

“Okay,” Bow said as her sniffles faded, “I promise.”

“Good. Now let’s go back to bed. You have a big day tomorrow,” Prince said, “And, later, let’s discuss some alternative ways to relieve your stress.”

As Prince carried Bow back to the bedroom he thought that he caught Jar Boss give him a slight nod of approval from the corner of his eye. Or perhaps it was just the contents of the jar still settling after Bow’s onslaught. Prince wondered briefly if Jar Boss could still feel nauseous. Well, that was a conversation for another day. 


	15. The Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow return from shooting the Conductor's second movie.

Prince leaned back on the pile of pillows, one of the girl’s books resting on his chest. Reading their language still made his head hurt but he was pretty sure he was getting the hang of it. Although it may have been too soon to pick this one up. He was pretty sure it was about the laws of time and the forces that governed them. He had gotten to a section that was describing the principals of parallel time lines and he’d had to stop. It was just making his head spin at this point.

Prince gave a long sight and rubbed his temples. He hoped the girls were doing okay at the shooting. Bow had looked better this morning but she was still rather quiet. He hoped their conversation wasn’t weighing to heavily on her mind.

His thoughts drifted to the movie they were shooting. He’d seen several of the Conductor’s movies before and the Murder on the Owl Express had actually been rather tame. He remembered a lot more explosions in the other films. Prince’s thoughts paused for a moment. The Conductor wouldn’t try and put the girls through those kinds of stunts, would he? They might be ghosts but they were still kids. Prince sat up as he heard the girls return and made his way to the living room.

Prince stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the girls. They were both floating in the middle of the room looking rather smug. And they were smoking. Literal clouds of hot steam were rising from their body.

“What happened?!” Prince cried.

“The train exploded!” the girls yelled.

“The train exploded?!” Prince yelled.

“We set off a bomb!” Hat said.

“And the train was falling apart!” Bow said.

“We had to run to engine room!” Hat continued.

“There was exploding eggs!” Bow added.

“And lava!” Hat finished.

“Wha… are you both okay?!” Prince yelled.

The girls looked at each other in confusion before turning back to Prince.

“What do you mean?” Hat asked.

“I mean… there were exploding eggs. You didn’t get hurt?” Prince asked.

“We’re ghosts,” Bow explained, “Normal stuff doesn’t really hurt us anymore. I mean, it’s uncomfortable and we don’t like it but it doesn’t really hurt us. Pretty much the only thing that can damage us is…magic stuff really.”

“Ohhh…so you’re both okay?” Prince asked.

Prince gave a gasp of surprise as both girls barreled into him and wrapped their arms around him.

“We’re okay,” Hat mumbled.

“Sorry we worried you,” Bow said.

“It’s alright but girls,” Prince wheezed, “you’re still…steaming.”

Both girls immediately released him and backed up, their cheeks glowing in embarrassment.

“Sorry,” Hat muttered.

“It’s alright,” Prince laughed, “let’s just save the hugs for once you both cool down. Now let’s get some dinner. It won’t be long before we have the results for the Annual Bird Movie awards.”


	16. Dressed Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince and the girls get ready for the Annual Bird Movie awards.

“Quit squirming,” Prince said.

“But it feels weird,” Hat complained.

“Didn’t you wear clothes before you…” Prince asked.

“Well yeah, but when it happened our clothes sorta…merged with us? We haven’t had to change them since so why do we have to put these on now?” Hat asked.

“Because awards ceremonies are fancy events. You don’t want to look bad in front of DJ Grooves you?” Prince said.

“I guess not,” Hat muttered.

“There, all done,” Prince said as he took a step back.

Prince was rather proud of himself for finding the dresses. They had been shoved in the back of the girls closet and he guessed that the girls had never been fond of them, even when they were alive. Hat’s dress was a light purple princess dress with a yellow sash and bow in the back. Bow’s dress was a matching light green princess dress with a yellow sash as well. Prince felt a slight pang in his chest as he was reminded of days where he was surrounded by people dressed just like this.

“Prince, are you okay?” Bow asked.

“Oh… yes I’m alright. Are you both ready to go?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, we’re ready. But you’re not,” Hat said with a mischievous smile.

“What do you mean?” Prince asked.

“Now it’s your turn to get dressed up,” Bow said.

“You…mean in my old clothes?” Prince asked.

“No way! Those were too old fashioned,” Hat said.

“Old fashioned?!” Prince said indignantly.

“We have something much better,” Bow said.

The three of them startled slightly as they heard the phone in the engine room ring.

“I’ll get it,” Bow said, “Hat, you show him the suit!”

A few minutes later Prince was dressed in a light grey suit complete with a dark blue tie. He swung his arms back and forth, marveling at how well it fit.

“Do you like it?” Hat asked.

“Yes, it’s very comfortable. Where did you get it?” Prince asked.

“Bow found it hanging around the ship,” Hat said.

“Why would you have something like this hanging around the ship?” Prince asked.

“Good question,” Hat replied.

Prince turned as he heard the door open. Bow floated into the bedroom, her head down.

“Bow is everything okay? Who was on the phone?” Hat asked.

“Hm? Oh, it was nothing,” Bow said, “Wow Hat! You were right! The suit looks good on him!”

“I know right?” Hat said.

“Alright, alright,” Prince laughed, “Are we ready to go?”

“Yeah!” the girls yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even ghost can dress up, right?


	17. Bird Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow fight for the last Time Piece in Dead Birds Studio

Prince and the girls walked into the awards ceremony. They walked down a long red carpet and were mobbed by a crowd of owls and penguins. Prince thought he saw some CAW agents in the crowd as well be he couldn’t be sure. He was surprised to see that neither DJ Grooves, nor the Conductor were anywhere to be seen.

The room went mostly dark and there was a stage with a large glowing screen behind it appeared with a black and white countdown clock projected on it. A crowd of cheering moon penguins stood in front of the stage and DJ Grooves stood on it. The girls wove through the crowd until they were right in front of DJ Grooves.

“Thank you darling, thank you! You secured our victory! We won the annual bird award trophy!” DJ Grooves crooned, “The conductor is probably awfully sour from his second loss ever, but don’t worry, he’ll come around. Anyway, we’re all done here! No more movies until next year. Since you’re so eager to get your hands on them, you can take my final movie prop as your last movie star payment.”

DJ Grooves gave a twirl and produced another Time Piece from his pocket. It floated into the air and Bow leapt up to grab it.

“What you were expecting something crazy to happen? Nonsense, darling, nonsense,” DJ Grooves said.

As the party wound down and the birds dispersed Prince turned to the girls. It’s true that this was a night to celebrate but it was getting late. Prince was about to suggest they head back to the ship but then he noticed Bow. Her head was tilted down and her floating motion was slow and methodical and a small frown was just barely visible on her face. Prince knelt down to look her in the eye.

“Bow, are you alright? You’ve seemed a little down since we left the ship,” Prince said.

“Hm? Oh, I’m okay,” Bow said.

“Really? Because if there’s anything we can do to help you just need to name it,” Prince said.

“Its just…that mean phone call!” Bow yelled.

“Huh? You mean the one you took before we left?” Hat asked.

“Yeah! The caller said the awards was rigged! And that whoever won had another Time Piece!” Bow said.

“Well, I mean DJ Grooves did give us a Time Piece when I thought he only had two. But he gave it to us, so no harm no fowl right?” Hat said.

“No!” Bow yelled, “The caller said that the winner knew the power the Time Piece’s had and they were going to break one!”

“WHAT?!” Hat yelled, “DJ Grooves would never do that!”

“I know!” Bow yelled back.

“Girls!” Prince yelled, “Let’s calm down for a second. Bow, do you know who the caller was?”

“No,” Bow replied, “They never said their name.”

“Then, we don’t know if it’s a trustworthy source. But this wouldn’t be the first time that someone you trusted was corrupted by the temptation of the Time Pieces,” Prince continued.

The girls were silent at that, pensive looks flitting across their faces.

“So, maybe we should check it out, just in case. I’m guessing things could go very wrong if the Time Piece is used, correct? And you don’t want DJ Grooves getting hurt, right?” Prince asked.

Both girls gave a stiff nod in reply.

“Okay, did they say where we should look?” Prince asked.

“Yeah,” Bow said, “they said we needed to check out the basement.”

Re-entering Dead Bird studios after dark was eerie. The lobby was dim, with only the emergency lights and the glowing neon signs were still on. Without hesitation, the girls made their way back through the ventilation system and back into the studio. Even in the semi darkness the girls still made their way easily through the different sets and to the elevator.

The elevator ride down seemed oddly long but as the doors to the elevator opened, they quickly realized why. The basement was truly massive with a ceiling you had to crane your neck to see. And the basement was filled a hodge podge of crates made of different materials. Prince could only assume they were all filled with movie props from different movies that the directors didn’t want to part with.

“Stay here,” Hat whispered, “We’ll scout ahead and come get you when we find the way in.”

Prince watched as the girls took off into the maze of crates. As he watched he could sometimes spot them as the leapt between the various towers. After what seemed like an eternity, Hat came back for him.

“Follow me closely,” Hat whispered, “And don’t step into the lights of the cameras. It sets off the sensors.”

Prince followed Hat through the storage areas. They passed through an area that also looked like a dressing room and a room that had massive movie posters with Hat and Bow on them. He could have sworn her heard Hat mutter something about ‘never posing for those’ but he was too nervous to ask about it. Then they passed through a room that was filled with golden awards, even the hand dryer in the corner seemed to be gold plated. Even during his days in the palace, he couldn’t remember seeing anything so needlessly extravagant but there was no time to dwell on it. Finally, they met up with Bow who was waiting by another elevator. The ride down to secondary basement was silent.

As the door opened their eyes were immediately assaulted by a display of light and colors. The floor was a colorful disco dance floor. On either side of the dance floor there were raised seating areas that were full of moon penguins that were partying and tossing inflatable balls back and forth. On the far end of the room there was a raised stage with lit sparklers on either end. Behind the stage was a large lit sign that proclaimed ’20 GROOVES.” And standing center stage, was DJ Grooves.

“Look who we’ve got here, darling! I guess you found my little secret, huh?” DJ Grooves said into his microphone, “This last Time Piece is all for me, darling. If you want it, well, I guess you’ve just gotta come and get it.”

As DJ Grooves gave another twirl, Prince felt someone grab the back of his jacket and found himself hauled into one of the seating areas.

“Sorry my dude,” one of the moon penguins said, “but you don’t want to get in the way, right?”

Prince just gave the penguin a nod of thanks and moved up to the railing of the seating area to watch. His eyes were starting to hurt from all the flashing lights but he couldn’t stop watching the fight. He couldn’t believe how nimble DJ Grooves was on his platforms. He practically flew through the air as he launched himself again and again at the girls. He even reached the ceiling to cause a massive disco ball and studio lights to come crashing down on the girls.

And his girls. They were racing around the room to avoid his attacks. But what was even more astounding was when they got hit, they simply got up and kept fighting. Was this what they had been doing this whole time? They were even more dazzling then the flashing lights as they seemed to almost dance together to land hit after hit on DJ Grooves.

Then all of the lights went out and a single glowing knife appeared. It streaked across the room and, when the lights went up, it was revealed that DJ Grooves was holding the knife. And the girls were on the other side of the room. Prince let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Where had DJ Grooves gotten the knife? Did he steal it from the Conductor? DJ Grooves started moving towards the girls, slashing the air in front of him, but his movements were slow. The next minutes were a blur of various movie props being used to attack the girls. Where had he gotten the cars?! Then the room went dark again and a spotlight went up on a single table with three chairs, DJ Grooves sitting in one.

“Let’s have a little heart-to-heat. Have a seat, darling,” DJ Grooves said.

Hesitantly, the girls both sat down.

“Ever since you arrived on this planet, these Time Pieces have fallen from the sky. Now, I can understand if you feel they belong to you, darling, I understand But, did you know they allow for rewinding time?” DJ Grooves said, “With one Time Piece I could reclaim all the trophies that belong to me, darling. Every single trophy I’ve lost to the Conductor, where has cheated his way to victory. I can’t prove it, darling, but I’m certain the Conductor has been manipulating everything to make sure I never win. I need just one Time Piece to fix years of cheating and fraud. Can’t you spare me just one Time Piece, darling?”

Prince felt his breath catch in his throat. To an extent, he could understand DJ Groove’s reasoning and his frustrations and he was sure the girls understood too, but to use such a powerful relic for such a petty reason? But to Prince’s relief he saw both of the girls shaking their heads no.

“Darlings, darlings, darlings. You’re so persistently selfish. I’ve brought you to stardom, and all I ask in return is a single Time Piece… but you won’t share? Well, darlings, if you want this Time Piece back so bad, come and get it!” DJ Grooves declared.

There was a puff of smoke and once it cleared bother DJ Grooves and the table were gone. And attached to the girls backs were two devices with long antennas sticking up into the air. Then DJ Grooves appeared back on stage.

“Remember this bomb, darlings? I stole it from the Conductor’s movie set, and now it’ll be your demise!” DJ Grooves said.

The next moments were a blur. A bomb?! He needed to help! How could he help them? Was DJ Grooves skating on his platforms? Was that a SAW? How was he going to help the girls? Then he heard a yell from his left.

“Lass over here! Hang in there, I’ll find a way to defuse the bomb!” the voice yelled.

Prince turned and was shocked to find the Conductor had joined the crowd. The Conductor turned and seemed to notice him for the first time.

“You there! Help me with these! We need to cut off the signal!” the Conductor ordered.

Prince moved with the Conductor to the back of the audience and helped him lug a giant pair of scissors out over the edge of the railing.

“Me defuser is ready, come here!” the Conductor yelled. 

The girls both raced over to the scissors and the Conductor and Prince closed them over their antennas. The bombs both fell of the girls backs and harmlessly onto the floor. Prince only had a moment to breath before the girls were in trouble again. This time a conga line of knife wielding owls was chasing after them. How had DJ Grooves gotten their help?! But just as quickly as the fight had started it was over. DJ Grooves was lying face down on the floor and the Time Piece floating above him. The fight was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this fic is going to be on hiatus for a while. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's just two of my other fics are getting close to being completed and I want to focus on wrapping them up. I hope this longer chapter makes up for it! 
> 
> I'll be back soon and we'll be heading back to Subcon Forest!


	18. Subcon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince decides the girls need to get off the spaceship for a bit

Prince was laying on the bed, Hat curled up on top of him and Bow nestled into his side. He wasn’t exactly comfortable, but the girls had been having trouble sleeping the past few nights and he didn’t dare wake them now. So, he lay in the dark, staring up at the canopy of the bed and remembering those moments after the fight.

It had been the first time he’d really seen them fight and that alone had been a surprise. The way they fought together suggested they had been in similar fights before, maybe even before they had reached his world. That thought alone was worrying. But the real surprise had come when the fight was over. The way the girls had described their previous victories, he had thought they would be excited about their victory but, instead, they had almost seemed to deflate. They had stared down at DJ Grooves’ unconscious form, like they weren’t quite sure what to do with themselves. Then the Conductor had descended from the stands and immediately suggested that Prince take the girls home for now. The girls had only agreed after the Conductor promised that he would personally see to it that DJ Grooves faced justice for, at the very least, putting the girls lives at risk. Prince wasn’t actually sure what exactly this justice would entail but was happy it was enough to convince the girls to leave.

The girls had been quiet and very unlike their usual energetic selves the past two days. Prince knew that DJ Grooves betrayal had been a hard blow, but he wasn’t quite sure how to comfort them. He knew firsthand how much it hurt to discover that someone wasn’t who you thought they were. He still wasn’t sure what he would have done if the girls hadn’t opened up their home to him. Hey, maybe that would work. The girls just needed to get moving again, get off the ship. That would help take their minds off of things. Surely, they had a clue towards the next Time Piece they had to find. He’d suggest it in the morning.

As the lights in the bedroom brightened in sync with the sun rising on the planet below, Prince gently nudged Hat awake as Bow stirred beside him. Gently, he herded them both into the kitchen where Cooking Cat was waiting with still steaming bowls of oatmeal for them. The silence stretched across the kitchen as they ate. A silence that was abruptly broken as Prince quickly clapped his hands together.

“So, I was thinking that we should get off of the ship for a while,” Prince said.

Both girls turned to him, their glowing eyebrows raised.

“Yeah? Why’s that?” Bow asked.

“Well, I know how much that last battle hurt, in more ways then one,” Prince said carefully, “but moping around on the ship isn’t doing either of you any good. And besides, your goal is to go home right? Don’t you still have to find more of these Time Pieces to do that?”

“Well, yeah…” Hat replied.

“But the next Time Piece…” Bow said, “I don’t think you would want to come with us.”

“Why not?” Prince asked.

“It’s back in Subcon,” Hat explained.

Prince froze, his heart sinking down into his stomach.

“It’s not near the mansion or anything!” Hat said, seeing Prince’s expression, “but we weren’t sure how you’d…so we were putting it off…”

“Wait…” Prince said, shaking himself slightly, “Why would it matter if it’s near…her…mansion?”

“Oh, um, we aren’t sure why, but … she… stopped leaving her mansion after the initial… thing happened,” Bow explained.

“That’s…certainly odd,” Prince said.

“It is, but you’re right. Hanging around the ship isn’t doing any good. But we’ll go on our own, you can stay here,” Hat said.

Prince looked at the girls floating in front of him. They both had determined expression on their faces’, and they held their clenched fists in front of themselves. But he could still see the slight tremble of their hands and the tightness in their shoulders.

“No, that’s very thoughtful of you girls but I still want to come with,” Prince said, “I was too scared last time, but I need to see what happened to the rest of my kingdom. I…I don’t think I could forgive myself if I didn’t.”

The girls shared an odd but intense look between each other before turning back to Prince.

“Okay, you can come with. But you have to promise to stay close to us, okay?” Hat said.

Prince gave a small smile, a sense of relief rising up in him at seeing Hat as he usual, decisive self.

“Of course. We’ll stick together and help each other,” Prince promised.

Seemingly satisfied, the girls gave each other a quick nod.

“Just give us a moment, then we’ll get going,” Bow said before the two of them dashed off into the ship.

Prince stood still for a moment as his previous feeling of relief quickly replaced by a sinking sensation once move. He jumped slightly as Cooking Cat placed a paw on his arm.

“I know you’re trying to be brave for those two but it’s okay to admit you’re afraid of going back,” Cooking Cat.

Prince gave a tight smile and wrapped his arms around himself, his hands resting on his upper arms.

“I am scared, but I wasn’t lying either. Subcon, it used to be such a beautiful place and the people there were happy. I only caught a glimpse of what it’s become before…before I ran but I know it’s changed so much. And I know…I know I was at least partly responsible for that change. I was supposed to rule Subcon one day, alongside her. I think I owe it to everyone who lived there to at least see what’s become of it,” Prince said.

“I understand,” Cooking Cat said, “but don’t go putting yourself in any unnecessary danger. I don’t think those girls could take it if you disappeared on them.”

“Thank you Cooking Cat, but they’re going to leave us behind eventually, right? They’ve been really sweet, letting us live here with them but they’re both planning on going home, wherever that is. You don’t really think we’re both going with them, do you?” Prince asked.

Cooking Cat raised her eyebrows, but her response was cut off by both of the girls bursting back into the kitchen.

“Are you ready?” Bow asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Prince replied.

Prince thought he was used to the horribly exciting rush of jumping off the spaceship but he was wrong. Thoughts of plummeting to his death were not overrode by the sensation of girls small hands clutching at his jacket and his legs were still shaking as they drifted down into Subcon.

Prince looked around slowly, taking in this new Subcon. The biggest change, he thought, was probably how dark it was. The Subcon he remembered was full of sunlight but now a dark purple blue haze seemed to hang above them that blocked out all the light. The towering trees that once seemed majestic to him now menacing. What he thought were vines hanging off the trees he could see, upon closer inspection, were actually nooses. Odd large mushrooms grew along the path that glowed in eerie blues and reds. A cold shudder passed down his back as he realized he could see, in the distance, tombstones gathered in small clusters.

“Are you okay?” Hat asked.

Prince shook himself slightly, realizing that he had been quiet for a little too long.

“I…was actually expecting it to be colder,” Prince said quickly.

“Oh, it still is around the mansion,” Bow said, “but it’s melted everywhere else. Oh, except for a few small patches. Don’t touch those, they’re super cold still.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Prince said with a nervous laugh.

Prince raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck but stopped as he felt a small pull on his wrist. As he moved his arm in front of his face he could see that a slender red thread had wrapped itself around his wrist. Before he could question it the thread grew taunt and, with a yell of surprise, Prince found himself hoisted into the trees as the girls screams faded behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey guess who's back!


	19. Moonjumper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince meets the mysterious new ruler of Subcon

The forest blurred around Prince and the thread pulled him faster and faster through the trees. As he flew more and more threads joined the first, twining themselves around his body until, when he finally came to a stop, he was left hanging in the air, completely entangled in threads much like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

It took a few minutes for his head to stop spinning but when it did, he gave an involuntary gasp at the scene before him. He was suspended at the edge of a large, circular clearing with a large glowing mushroom in the center. Surrounding the mushroom were dozens of small humanoid creatures, each wearing a dark cloak. Above the mushroom floated several odd, specter-like creatures that had faces that resembled wooden masks and transparent serpentine bodies that floated behind them. But strangest of all was the creature sitting atop the mushroom. It was mostly humanoid, with a torso, two arms and a head and it was wearing a strangely familiar red jacket. But the creature seemed to have no legs. And its skin was a pale, deathly blue. And its head was oddly shaped, sloping with two pointed ends like a crescent moon. Both of its eyes were black with odd red designs instead of irises, one was speckled with red diamonds and the other, a long red swirl.

The creature didn’t acknowledge him at first as it was holding a large doll in its lap and its hands flew back and forth as it stitched the dolls right arm onto the body. But, as it finished its task, the creature craned its neck to look up at him, a large, leering smile splitting its face in two.

“Well now, what’s this?” the creature said as it floated up to him, the ends of the coat billowing out to the sides, “Something alive in Subcon Forest? I wasn’t sure I’d ever see the day.”

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Prince said as he tried to pull backwards from the creature only to find the threads held him fast.

“It’s no trouble. After all, I have eternity,” the creature said, chuckling slightly, “But the question now, is what to do with you. Subcon is no place for the living.”

“Wha…?” Prince asked.

But Prince’s question was cut off as Hat and Bow burst into the clearing. A faint red glow lit up their cheeks and, if Prince hadn’t known the details of their current state, he would have mistaken them for being out of breath.

“Moonjumper!” Hat yelled, “Put him down!”

“So, you’re the ones who brought him,” Moonjumper said as he drifted towards them, “naughty girls. First you leave me alone for so long I thought you’d forgotten our deal and then you return with one of the living? For shame! You know how much trouble this forest is for the dead. Did you even consider the trouble one of the living could cause?”

“I…I…” Hat stammered.

“He just wanted to help us!” Bow said.

“Oh, he did, did he?” Moonjumper said, “Well he’s going to have to stay here.”

“WHAT?!” Hat and Bow screamed.

“Until,” Moonjumper said, cutting off the girls’ protests, “you’re both done gathering materials for me. I’ll put him to work while we wait for you and you can have him and that precious little timepiece back when you’re finished.”

“You won’t…hurt him, will you?” Bow asked.

“I have plenty of subjects. I don’t need another,” Moonjumper replied.

The girls still hesitated, staring up at Prince.

“I’ll be alright,” Prince called down to them, “Just do what you need to do.”

“We’ll be back soon!” Bow yelled back.

Prince gave them what he hoped was an encouraging smile and they both rushed off into the woods.

“Now, lets get started,” Moonjumper said.

With a wave of Moonjumpers hand the threads released Prince and he plummeted to the ground, landing flat on his back. Prince sat up with a groan, rubbing his sore backside. Looking up he could see that Moonjumper had returned to spot on top of the mushroom.

“The pieces are there,” Moonjumper said, gesturing to two shadowy piles at the base of the mushroom, “stuff them with reeds. But not too tight, that makes the joints stiff.”

“Joints?” Prince asked as he walked over to take a closer look at the pile.

Up close he could see that one pile was actually the pieces of the dolls Moonjumper was sewing together. The other pile was a pile of dried reeds. As he sat down next to the pile, one of the small creatures walked up to him and Prince stifled another gasp. Down here he could see underneath the creatures hood, and instead of a face there was a swirl of glowing yellow energy. The creature seemed to enjoy his surprise as it giggled and struck a pose.

“Stuff it good, okay?” the creature said.

As Prince stared at the creature he noticed a thin, red line going down it’s arm. A row of stitches.

“Of course,” Prince replied with a gulp.

“The Subconites aren’t distracting you, are they?” Moonjumper asked from his perch.

“No, of course not,” Prince said as he hurriedly grabbed an arm piece and started stuffing it.

They worked in silence for a while. As Prince worked, he noticed more and more Subconites gathering around him and watching him work. Soon, a chorus of giggles erupted every time he pricked himself with a reed or accidently dropped a doll part.

“You know, I’ve been wondering something for a while now,” Moonjumper said, “would you mind answering a question for me?”

“Only if I know the answer,” Prince retorted.

“Fair enough,” Moonjumper chuckled, “So tell me, when did you lose that crown of yours?”

“Oh, I didn’t lose it, I gave it to Bow in exchange for…” Prince started but then paused for a moment, “Wait…how did you know I used to have a crown?”


	20. The Past and Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince remembers when he first met Moonjumper, years ago

“How do I know?” Moonjumper asked incredulously, “You really don’t recognize me, do you?”

Moonjumper flew down, off of the mushroom, and stopped inches away from Prince’s face.

“Really, how insulting. And after we had such good times together too,” Moonjumper said as he lifted his arms in an exaggerated shrug.

As Moonjumper lifted his arms the sleeves of his jacked slid down his arms exposing his pale blue skin. Exposing his wrists. Wrists that had odd pegs in them, like the joints of a doll.

“No…” Prince said softly, “The marionette?”

Prince remembered when the marionette had come into their lives. It had been shortly after he and Vanessa had become engaged and had decided to move out of the palace and into the manor. Since they were soon to be wed, it made sense for them to make a place of their own, away from Vanessa’s mother. They had both been so filled with dreams of the future and it hadn’t taken long for Vanessa’s mother to catch wind of the fact that they were renovating the nursery. When the Queen’s gift had arrived, he and Vanessa had stared at it for longest time, not quite sure what to make of it.

“It’s … a marionette?” Prince said.

Vanessa nodded tightly.

“Does…she mean for us to add it to the nursery?” Prince asked.

Vanessa nodded again.

“Well, that’s kind of her but…I mean…it’s rather…” Prince stammered.

“You can say it,” Vanessa sighed.

“It’s a bit disturbing,” Prince said.

“Only a bit?” Vanessa asked.

“Okay, a lot disturbing,” Prince admitted.

And it was disturbing. Prince could never place his finger on the one thing that made the marionette so unsettling. Perhaps it was because its limbs were just a little too long. Perhaps it was the eerie blueness of its skin. Or perhaps it was the smile that stretched a little too far across its face. Whatever it was, the thing made his skin crawl.

“This thing used to give me nightmares when I was a child,” Vanessa groaned.

“Wait, this thing used to hang in your nursery too?” Prince asked.

“Yes, it’s some sort of family heirloom. Whenever I complained about it scaring me mother would feed me some ridiculous story about the marionette protecting generations of royal heirs from harm,” Vanessa said, “What are we going to do? I can’t stand it, but mother will be furious if she visits and sees its not in the nursery.”

“Maybe we can make it less scary?” Prince suggested.

“How?” Vanessa asked.

“Maybe if we put some clothes on it?” Prince suggested, “Hang on a moment.”

Prince left and then returned with one of his old jackets. It took some maneuvering, but he was finally able to get the jacket on the marionette. Then he held it up but its strings for Vanessa to see. She stared at it in silence for a moment. Then she started giggling. Then laughing. Finally, she was doubled over, gasping for air in between her laughter. Finally, Prince couldn’t hold in his laughter either and he was bent over double as well.

“Think you can tolerate it in the nursery now?” Prince asked as his laughter subsided.

“Yes, alright,” Vanessa said as she wiped a tear from her eye, “But the minute we have a child, it goes in the closet.”

“Without a doubt,” Prince agreed as he pulled Vanessa into an embrace.

Prince shook himself free of the memory, a chill replacing the warmth that had filled his chest of thought of what had been. He couldn’t dwell to long on the past. Especially not here.

“You’re the marionette, the gift from the queen,” Prince said.

“Yes, you’ve got it now,” Moonjumper said as he drew back from Prince, “And I’d like to thank you for this lovely jacket. One of the best presents I’ve ever received. Although, I really didn’t appreciate all that talk of putting me in a closet. That was just rude.”

“You…you were conscious that whole time?” Prince asked.

“All objects are to an extent. Some more than others, especially if they’ve been made with great care and purpose,” Moonjumper replied.

“But then… you were there that whole time! You know what happened! You must know why…please. What did I do wrong? Why was she so angry with me?!” Prince cried.

Moonjumper pulled further away from Prince, a frown crossing his face. Then he turned his back to him and remanded that way for a moment.

“Nothing,” Moonjumper finally answered.

“Nothing?” Prince asked.

“This might be hard to hear, but it wasn’t anything that you did that caused her change. If anything, she caused it herself by allowing her very worst fears to consume her,” Moonjumper said.

“But…if I had been there for her…she might have never…” Prince said.

“Come now, it’s best not to dwell on things that might have been. Those are possibilities we will never see,” Moonjumper said, “I mean, look at me. I always had just a touch of magic inside me. I was created to protect the royal heirs from any magic that might harm them. Vanessa was once one of wards, if I had known her own magic would cause so much harm… maybe I could have done something about it back then. But once that wave of Vanessa’s magic washed over me, I found myself…free. Free to move at my own will, can you imagine my surprise? And while I had to leave a few things behind,” Moonjumper said as he gestured to the ragged stumps where his legs had once been, “I was free to explore my world for the first time. And what did I find? Children! They might not be royalty, but they still need my protection. My purpose has become even greater than before.” 

A few of the floating spirits came up to Moonjumper then, curling their serpentine like bodies around his arms and rubbing their masks against his shoulders. Moonjumper paused to give them affectionate pats before turning his attention back to Prince.

“And you…I think you found something worth protecting as well. As a result of all of this,” Moonjumper said.

“Yes, I think I did,” Prince said as slumped against the mushroom, suddenly feeling rather tired.

Moonjumper joined him then, leaning against the base of the mushroom.

“So, these spirits, they really are the remains of people?” Prince asked.

“Yes, they are,” Moonjumper replied.

“Will they ever… you know?” Prince asked.

“Hard to say,” Moonjumper replied, “They seem to have picked up a little magic of their own in that blast. It’s left them a bit stuck. But perhaps that will fade one day, and they’ll be able to pass on. Either way, I’ll stay with them until they need me no longer.”

“What about the girls? Are they stuck too?” Prince asked.

“I’m afraid those two are a mystery to me. Whatever magic they picked up will wear off eventually, but even I don’t know what will happen when it does. I’m fairly certain they aren’t dead though, the dead don’t tend to roam as freely as those two clearly have,” Moonjumper explained.

“I’m… glad,” Prince said, his eyelids growing heavy.

“Get some rest,” Moonjumper sighed, “The air here, it’s not good for the living. It’s far too stagnant now. The living need growth and change. When your girls come back, I’ll give them my last timepiece. And then you must leave. Find a place to live and grow away from here. It was nice to see you again, but this kingdom is only good for the dead now.”

Prince’s protest was cut off as he slumped over into a deep sleep. The last thing he saw was Moonjumper floating over him, almost looking the way he had in days he had hung from the walls of the nursery, so long ago.


	21. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince wakes up after falling asleep in Subcon Forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. Life happened.

Prince felt warm. It was the good kind of warmth, the fuzzy kind that wraps itself around you and makes you feel safe. Where was he? Memories seemed to float around him, just out of his grasp. He remembered being someplace cold, and desolate but strangely familiar. But this warmth… it seemed familiar too.

Prince groggily opened his eyes. As the room came into focus around him, he could see a swath of blue fabric above him. A canopy. That’s right… a canopy bed, he thought, that must mean he was…

“YOU’RE AWAKE!” Hat yelled as she barreled into Prince’s chest.

Prince gasped for breath as Hat’s quaking form clung to him. Everything quickly fell back into place. Vanessa, the basement, the girls, the spaceship, Dead Bird Studio, and then Subcon Forest. Last thing he remembered was talking with Moonjumper and then falling asleep. But why was Hat so upset? Had something else happened?

“Hat?” Prince gasped, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Hat turned her face up to Prince, golden tears dripping down her face. She scrunched up her face, pulled her arm back, and gave Prince a solid punch in his stomach.

“You dummy!” Hat exclaimed, “You wouldn’t wake up! It’s been three days!”

“Three… days?” Prince gasped, out of breath again from Hat’s punch.

Prince and Hat both turned at the sound of clattering dishes. Then Prince braced himself as a turquoise figure flew across the bedroom and also barreled into his chest. Bow couldn’t even speak she was bawling so hard. Prince gave a small sigh and wrapped one of his arms around her. He held his other arm out and soon Hat was wrapped in his embrace as well.

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Prince said as their sobs subsided, “Was I really asleep that long?”

“Yeah,” Hat sniffled, “We got back to Moonjumper and you were out cold.”

“He told us you’d be alright once we got you out of Subcon, but it was taking so long for you to wake up…” Bow said.

“You were getting worried,” Prince said.

“Yeah,” Bow sniffled.

“I’m sorry, again. But hey, I’m alright now, okay? You don’t need to worry anymore,” Prince said.

“Are you really?” Hat said, her eyes narrowed.

“Yes, I’m still a little drowsy but otherwise I feel fine. Although I think I’m a little,” Prince said but he was interrupted by the growling of his stomach.

The room was quiet for a moment but it was soon interrupted by a chorus of laughter as the three of the doubled over in laughter.

“I was actually bringing dinner when I came in, but I think I ruined it,” Bow said as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

Prince looked over to the doorway and saw a tray and three bowls of soup scattered around across the floor.

“You were bringing three…?” Prince asked.

“Cooking Cat kept making three of everything. Just in case,” Hat said.

“I’ll have to thank her,” Prince said.

“Later,” Bow said as she lightly shoved Prince’s shoulder, “You’re staying in bed. I’ll get more soup.”

Prince and Hat watched silently as Bow floated out of the room. Hat gave a sigh and settled down, resting the top half of her body across Prince’s lap.

“I’m sorry,” Hat said.

“For what?” Prince asked in surprise.

“That your visit to Subcon went so badly. I mean, I know it’s changed a lot from the kingdom you knew but it’s not all bad. Some parts are actually really beautiful. And you hardly got to see any of it,” Hat said.

“It’s alright,” Prince said slowly, “The main reason I wanted to go back was to find out what happened to my subjects. And…while their situation isn’t one I would have ever wished for I’m glad to know someone is taking care of them. Moonjumper isn’t what I expected but I know he cares for them. I think that’s all I can really ask for. I just…”

“You just what?” Hat asked looking up at him.

“I just wish there was something I could have done for them. That was supposed to be my job. My fate even. I was destined to be their king. To both rule and serve them for the rest of my life. But now there’s nothing I can do for them. Apparently, I can’t even go into their kingdom without getting sick,” Prince said with a bitter laugh.

Hat was silent for a moment, considering his words.

“You know, the Subconites can talk once they get one of Moonjumpers bodies. And they like to talk with me and Bow while we’re in the woods. And they talked about you a lot, after we brought you to Subcon. They recognized you, and they were really excited to see you. They were really happy to see you alive. I think you already did a lot for them, just by surviving,” Hat said.

“You think so?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Hat said as she snuggled closer.

They both looked up as the door to the bedroom swooshed open and Bow floated back in with another tray.

“It’s chicken noodle,” Bow announced, “Cooking Cat made me promise to make sure you eat all of it.”

“I doubt that will be a problem,” Prince laughed, feeling lighter than he had in days.


	22. Skyline Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls are frustrated by Alpine Skyline

Prince wandered the halls of the ship, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He had promised the girls he wouldn’t strain himself but being confined to bedroom hadn’t gotten boring over the past few days. And, besides, Cooking Cat had promised that she wouldn’t say a word as long as he took it easy.

It was really sweet, seeing how attentive the girls had become since their adventure in Subcon Forest. They were constantly checking on him, bringing him drinks and snacks, and scolding him every time he tried to get up. It was only yesterday morning he convinced them to continue their search for the Time Pieces. They had returned yesterday looking a bit frustrated but, still apparently in ‘nurse mode’, they had both refused to tell him what was bothering them. In fact, all he knew about the new area they were searching was that it was called Alpine Skyline.

He could remember hearing about Alpine Skyline back in his college days. It was located high in the mountains and the main residents there were the nomads and the mysterious goats that were supposedly so tall that that they towered over most of the nomad’s buildings. Other then that, he didn’t know much about it. He knew they girls were probably trying not to worry him, but he wished they would at least tell him a little bit about what Alpine Skyline was like.

Slowly he made his way to the bookshelves in the engine room. He still was a bit dismayed that the girls kept their books inside the engine room but, he’d come to find the clicking of the gears rather comforting as he scanned the titles. He’d already managed to work his way through most of the titles but he’d been saving the best, in his opinion anyways, for last. Gently, Prince slid ‘Laws of Time and Space for the New Space Traveler” off of the shelf and began shuffling back to the bedroom.

Prince gave a sigh of relief as he sat back down on the bed. While he was nearly as tired as he had been a few days ago his joints still felt oddly stiff. Part of him wished he could contact Moonjumper and ask the details of the strange illness that had come over him in Subcon, he knew such a thing was too dangerous. Then, just as he slid back into bed and cracked open the book, he heard the teleporter activate and the girls barreled back into the room.

“Hey, welcome back,” Prince said with a small smile.

“Prince!” Bow said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, “How are you feeling?”

“Good, just a little stiff still,” Prince said.

“What’s this?” Hat asked as she settled in next to him.

“You don’t recognize it? It’s one of the books from your library. I asked Cooking Cat to grab it for me,” Prince said.

“Hat’s not a big reader,” Bow teased.

“Hey! I read!” Hat protested, “I just don’t find law books interesting.”

“That’s fair,” Prince chuckled, “So what about you two? What’s Alpine Skyline like?”

“Its…interesting,” Hat said.

“I hear there’s some really big goats living there,” Prince said.

“There are,” Bow said.

“Is…it dangerous?” Prince asked.

“No!” Both girls cried.

“Oh, that’s good,” Prince said, “you both looked a bit down when you came back yesterday, I was a little worried.”

“Well, it’s not like Subcon,” Bow said.

“Or the Train Rush movie,” Hat continued.

“It’s just…” Bow said.

“Seriously,” Hat said.

“Confusing!” Both girls yelled.

“Confusing?” Prince asked.

“We keep getting lost!” Hat cried as she face-planted into the bed and let out a scream of frustration.

“Yeah,” Bow sighed, “We keep getting turned around and going in circles.”

“And those stupid cats!” Hat yelled, lifting her head from the mattress for a moment.

“Cats?” Prince asked.

“There’s a gang of cats living there that can turn invisible. They keep stealing out Pons,” Bow explained.

“That does sound frustrating,” Prince said, “Hmmm… maybe… Bow could you bring me a piece of paper?”

“Paper? Sure, but why?” Bow asked.

“Well, I don’t know how to handle your cat problem, but maybe we can try and draw a map of Alpine Skyline? It might help keep you from getting so turned around,” Prince explained.

“Oh! That’s a great idea,” Bow said as she floated up from the bed and then raced from the bedroom.

“You know you’re supposed to be taking it easy,” Hat said.

“I don’t think making a map is that strenuous,” Prince laughed, “And besides, this is important to you. If I can’t help by coming with you, I at least want to help somehow.”

“You’ve done plenty,” Hat said, “I mean… just being here… and anyways the Time Piece’s in Alpine Skyline are the last ones. We can handle it.”

Prince felt his breath catch in his throat. The last ones? But that meant…that meant that the girls would be able to go home soon. Prince was saved from his racing train of thought as Bow burst back into the bedroom.

“I’ve got the paper! And I found some markers too!” Bow said.

“Good! Now, tell me what you remember about the layout of Alpine Skyline,” Prince said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone else get really turned around while navigating Alpine Skyline? Or is it just me?


	23. The End Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow recover the last Time Piece but there's one more complication

Prince stood in front of the main room, looking out the windows to the planet below. He stretched his arms up above his head, savoring the warmth that filled his muscles. The stiffness that had haunted him the past few days had finally left him, and he felt better then he had in days. He wondered if he could join the girls down in Alpine Skyline before they finished the area. It sounded like a fascinating place. Even though it was all one area the different areas sounded vastly different from each other, varying from an active volcano, to a resort for birds, a massive windmill, and an odd, ghostly bell that could send you to a different dimension. He knew the girls were almost finished here, but maybe they’d agree to one last adventure together before they left for their home planet. Who knows? Maybe he’d end up staying in Alpine Skyline. He knew he was going to need a new place to stay after the girls left.

Prince wrapped his arms around his shoulders and squeezed. He didn’t actually want to leave the girls. These past weeks had best he could remember in a long time. They had reminded him of days when he had dreamt of the family, he had planned on having with Vanessa. But he also remembered the arrangement he had made with the girls in the very beginning. He could only stay with them until their spaceship was fixed. Then they could return to their home planet where they no doubt had people waiting for them.

“Prince!” the girls yelled.

Prince jumped slightly and spun around. He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t heard the girls return. But there they both were, big grins on their faces and Bow clutching a Time Piece in her hands.

“Did we scare ya?” Hat asked as she floated over to him.

“A little,” Prince chuckled, “I didn’t hear you two come in.”

“Really?” Bow asked as she floated up to the vault, “We came in like, right behind you.”

“I guess I was lost in thought. This view never fails to impress,” Prince replied.

“It is pretty cool,” Hat said.

“So how did it go this time?” Prince asked.

“Weird,” Bow said as she leaned over the railing, “We had to fight a bunch of plants.”

“Plants?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, weird plants that were poisoning the goats,” Hat said.

“Where did they come from?” Prince asked.

“We’re not sure, not even the nomads knew,” Bow said, “But I think…I think they were always there. I think the power of the Time Pieces just… made the problem worse somehow.”

“Well, at least we didn’t have to fight another power-crazy villain who first pretended to be out friend,” Hat said.

“True,” Bow said, “fighting weird plants was a change of pace.”

“So,” Prince said as he quickly clapped his hands together, “I was thinking we should have a party.”

“A party?” the girls asked.

“Yeah, a party. I mean, this is the last Time Piece, right? Your ship is all fixed and your mission is over. So…we should celebrate. One last time before…before you go home,” Prince said.

“Oh…” Hat said.

“That’s right…I guess this is the last one,” Bow said.

“Yeah…I mean it has to be. There isn’t anywhere left to look,” Hat said.

“Let me just put it away… and then we can talk about parties,” Bow said.

Bow stiffly turned back to the vault and punched a code into the keypad. The vault opened with a slight swish and Bow gently placed the Time Piece inside with all of the others. Closing the vault back up, Bow turned around to look at the Time Piece counter on the screen next to it.

“Hey… Hat?” Bow asked.

“Yeah?” Hat replied.

“You didn’t move any of the Time Pieces somewhere else, did you?” Bow asked.

“No, why?” Hat asked.

“The number on the counter…it’s wrong. I know we recovered more Time Pieces then this,” Bow said.

“What? That can’t be right,” Hat said, “No one can get inside the vault except us!”

As Hat headed towards the vault a strange feeling came over Prince. Like the very air around him was twisting and turning in on itself.

“Hat! Bow!” Prince yelled.

The girls turned and he saw the immediate panic in their expressions.

“Prince!” the girls screamed.

Their screams were the last thing Prince heard as he found himself being dragged through time and space. Everything was black, cold and he had the odd sensation weightlessness before he finally struck something solid. The world around him settled into focus and Prince felt a wave of heat wash over him and he immediately started sweating. The earth below him was a reddish-brown color and in the distance were rivers of flowing lava. But that wasn’t the strangest thing. The strangest thing was the amount of people here. Owls, Penguins, Mafia Goons, Crows, Subconites, and what he assumed were the Goats and Nomads from Alpine Skyline. They were all gathered in this strange place.

“Laddie!” a familiar voice called.

“Conductor!” Prince called as he saw the familiar yellow beak pushing its way through the crowd.

“So, even ye got pulled into this mess,” the Conductor said.

“It looks like it. Where are we?” Prince asked.

“Not sure, it doesn’t look like any place I’ve ever seen, but I can take a stab at who’s responsible,” the Conductor said.

“Who?” Prince asked.

The Conductor simply pointed at a hill in the distance. Atop the hill was a large fortress. Standing at either side of the entrance to the fortress were two massive golden statues. The statues depicted a young girl dressed in a cape that covered her head and draped down her back. And under the girl’s nose was a small mustache. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't include much of Alpine Skyline but I didn't think much of the storyline in that area. It was refreshing to not have to fight a backstabbing former friend though.


	24. The Fortress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince, Hat and Bow investigate the circumstances surrounding the fortress

“This is insane,” Prince whispered to himself.

The girls had told him about how eager Mustache Girl had been to grab the power of the Time Pieces for herself. He knew that the Time Pieces could reverse the flow of time. But this? The Time Pieces could do all this? And not only could they do this, a young girl could manipulate them into doing this?

“PRINCE!” two familiar voices yelled.

Prince turned just in time for both of the girls to barrel into his chest, clinging to his jacket.

“Are you okay?” Hat asked.

“You just disappeared!” Bow said.

“And then Cooking Cat disappeared too!” Hat added.

“We couldn’t find anyone!” Bow said.

“And then this weird place appeared in one of the telescopes!” Hat said.

“Whoa, whoa slow down,” Prince said, “I’m fine. And so is everyone else, for the moment at least. It looks like everyone who lived on the planet has been transported here. I’m sure we’ll find Cooking Cat if we look around.”

“Right here dears,” Cooking Cat said as they spotted her familiar orange fur, “I’ve been in hot kitchens before, but this is something else! I don’t know how you two aren’t breaking a sweat, but I’m really cooking.”

“Ghost’s don’t sweat,” Hat said with a proud smile on her face as she puffed out her chest.

“Lucky you,” Prince chuckled as he felt the sweat drip down his back, “Well, I guess the lucky thing is you two don’t have to go looking for who’s responsible this time.”

“Yeah, we know exactly who’s responsible” Bow said with a scowl.

“Let’s go pay her a visit,” Hat said with a matching scowl.

With Hat holding onto his left hand and Bow holding onto his right, the three of them made their way up the hill, passing by the long line people that all seemed to be waiting to enter the fortress.

“Even the sleeping tanukis are here,” Bow whispered, “it looks like she really got everyone.”

“What does she even want with all these people?” Prince whispered before stopping in his tracks at the top of the hill.

Floating outside the doors was a familiar blue figure in a light red coat.

“Moonjumper?!” Prince yelled.

Moonjumper started slightly at the sound of Prince’s voice but quickly composed himself and floated over to them.

“Ah, I see you did not escape this fate either,” Moonjumper said.

“Moonjumper, do you know what’s happening here? Why did Mustache Girl bring everyone here?” Prince asked.

“Why is anyone’s guess, I only know that she claims she is ruler now and plans to bring everyone to some sort of judgement,” Moonjumper explained.

“Who gives her the right to do that?!” Bow exclaimed.

“No one but herself I imagine,” Prince said.

“Well, then we’ll have to give her a good talking to,” Bow said.

“And hopefully a good smackdown,” Hat said, producing her umbrella.

Prince looked at Hat and Hat slowly put her umbrella away.

“But…you know… a talking to first,” Hat said.

“Just… be careful in there. If this Mustache Girl can make all this, who knows what else she can do,” Prince said.

“We will,” the girls said as they floated up and gave Prince two quick kisses on his cheeks.

Then the girls floated up to the massive wooden gates. Working together, they managed to shove the gates open just enough for them to squeeze through before they slammed shut behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a bit short. It's just the next one will be on the longer side and I didn't want them to run together


	25. The Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat and Bow face off against Mustache Girl

Prince paced back and forth in front of the gates, his mind spinning. They could handle themselves. He knew this. He’d seen it first- hand. But something felt wrong. This whole thing felt different. Like an entirely different level then anything they’d seen before.

“You’re worried about the lassies?” the Conductor asked.

“Of course I am,” Prince said, “I know they’re strong, but I still with I could help somehow.”

“Well then, let’s get in there and help them,” the Conductor said, “The girls have done so much for all of us, it’s only right.”

Prince stopped his pacing for a moment.

“Us?” Prince asked.

“Yes, all of us darling,” a voice said.

Prince turned to find a crowd had gathered behind him. Owls, Crows, Moon Penguins, Subconites, Nomads, Cats, Mafia Goons and even a towering goat stood behind him. And leading the crowd was DJ Grooves.

“I think it’s about time we all made amends for what we’ve put those girls though,” DJ Grooves said.

Prince felt an odd lump forming in his throat and tears forming in his eyes. But before he could compose himself enough to respond an explosion rocked the fortress. Whirling back to face the crowd Prince could feel his panic rising.

“We need to hurry,” Prince said.

As he turned back to the gates, he felt a cold hand grasp his. Turning he saw that Moonjumper had floated to his side.

“Stay close, little prince,” Moonjumper said, “You may be the last royal I ever protect. I swear, I won’t let you fall.”

With a great bleat, the goat stepped forward and opened the gates with a mighty shove. The scene inside seemed to be ripped from some sort of nightmare. It resembled a mighty castle with great, golden columns, crystal chandeliers, and golden archways. But instead of carpeted hallways there were pools of lava, flamethrowers and swaying platforms.

“Hold on tight,” Moonjumper said as he easily lifted Prince into his arms.

What happened next remained a blur in Prince’s mind, filled with blistering heat and swirls of red and yellow. By the time Moonjumper set him down Prince felt rather light headed. But he quickly regained his senses as another explosion rocked the fortress, clearly coming from the door behind him. Before he could say a word, one of the Mafia Goons had shoved the door open.

“SHE CAN GET LOST!” The Mafia Goon yelled, “Mustached girl is not welcome here. Mafia say, get lost!”

Prince hurried into the room and barely had a moment to take in what he saw. The room had a rich red carpet with paintings of Mustache Girl adorning the walls. But the most astounding thing was, on the far side of the room, was a towering pile of Time Pieces with a throne balancing on top of them. Standing in front of the pile was a small girl in a red cape and a pink dress with a yellow mustache underneath her nose. In front of her were Hat and Bow, uninjured but clearly out of breath.

“That’s right, get LOST! Nawone wants yer here! Isn’t that right, big lad?” The Conductor said.

The towering goat stepped up beside the Conductor and gave a grunt of agreement and a nod.

“This alternate reality stinks,” Moonjumper said as he floated forward, “Get lost!”

“Get lost! Ain’t that right, gang?!” said the Moon Penguins as the snapped in unison.

“Yeah! Get lost!” cried Cooking Cat as she jumped onto the goat’s head.

Mustache Girl stepped backwards, confusion evident on her face.

“Wh, wha? But I’m fixing everything! No more bad guys! Why can’t you see that I’m doing this for all of us!” Mustache Girl cried.

Hat and Bow turned around slowly, the wonder clear on their faces as they saw everyone had gathered to support them. Their faces brightening further as they spotted Prince in the crowd.

“How can you stand behind these people?” Mustache Girl asked Hat and Bow, “They’re crooks! Criminals! And you’re, … you’re helping them? This ends now!”

With fury in her eyes, Mustache Girl took a Time Piece from her cape and smashed it on the ground. The area around them turned back and Prince had the uncomfortable sensation of falling. When the lights returned, the fortress had disappeared. Instead there was an area that seemed to have no walls, only an odd grated floor. The air itself seemed to be filled with colorful, swirling energy. He and the rest of the crowd had been pushed back from a large ring that had appeared on the floor. A ring that the Hat, Bow and Mustache girl were inside. Prince tried to step forward but Moonjumper held him back and shook his head.

“Be patient, we’ll help them when the moment is right,” Moonjumper promised.

Prince watched the battle unfold. Mustache Girl seemed to be brimming with power as she vanished and reappeared around the ring, firing beams of purple energy as the girls frantically dodged. Every now and then the girls would strike at her but she didn’t seem to be taking any damage from the attacks.

“Little hat kids can’t even hit evil mustached girl!” one of the Mafia Goons said, “We have to help!”

“Yer got it lad. Let’s give her something she can jab at that lil’ red nuisance, so she’ll get lost,” The Conductor replied.

With a great leap, the Mafia Goons jumped together forming a massive ball in the center of the ring. The Conductor leaped on top, a smug smile on his face.

“Let’s roll, eh he he!! Lil’ girls, give us a shove right into that red lass’ ugly mug!”

Both of the girls faces lit up when they saw what the Conductor was offering and mischievous smirks spread across their faces. They each took turns smacking the ball of Mafia Goons into Mustache Girl until, with a cry of frustration, Mustache Girl let out a wave of energy that broke the ball apart and sent the goons flying. Now Mustache girl had a shimmering shield of energy surrounding her body.

Moonjumper turned to the Giant Goat beside him.

“Let’s sign a contract to make this girl get lost, once and for all!” Moonjumper said.

A paper scroll appeared before the goat and, with a grunt of agreement, the goat quickly signed it.

“Hahaha! Alright, let’s go. I’ll create, you’ll throw,” Moonjumper cackled.

With a poof of smoke, a bright red cherry appeared in Moonjumper’s hand. The goat swiftly took the cherry and chucked it into the ring. Prince was confused but the girls seemed to immediately understand. Bow picked up the cherry and lobbed it into Mustache Girl’s shield where it immediately exploded.

“Enough!” Mustache Girl yelled.

Mustache Girl began firing her energy beams into the crowd. With every person she hit, their bodies exploded into the small balls that were filled with pons and healing hearts.

“Oh…when we explode we drop pons…” Prince cried, “That gives me an idea!”

Prince turned to Moonjumper beside him.

“They need our help to turn back time! If we all explode then they will get useful heart pons! If we explode, we save the world!” Prince cried.

“What?! That plan is crazy!” Moonjumper yelled.

“Don’t worry! I know they’ll succeed and we’ll all come back when time rewinds! If Mustache Girl can do it, so can they! Now hurry!” Prince yelled.

Prince turned towards the girls and locked eyes with Hat and Bow.

“I know you can win this! I trust you!” Prince yelled, “Now hurry! And I’ll see you at home!”

Prince barely had time to register the shock on their faces as he felt Moonjumpers fist connect with his chest and his body vanished into thin air.


	26. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for everyone to go home.

Prince shook himself has the world came back into focus around him. He turned slowly from side to side. The fortress, Mustache Girl, it was all gone. He was back on the space ship. He turned to look out the window and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his planet below him, just as it was before. Then he face planted into the glass as two small bodies flung themselves onto him.

“Girls!” Prince said as he turned himself over, “You did it! I knew you could! Everything is back to…normal?”

Prince stared in confusion at the two girls on top of him. Gone were the ghostly glows and yellow jack-o-lantern like faces. Both girls were flesh and blood. One had pale skin, light brown hair that was tied up in a short ponytail and baby blue eyes. The other had brown skin, black curly hair, and bright purple eyes.

“Hat…? Bow…? Wha…?” Prince asked.

“Surprise!” Hat yelled.

“Well, we figured that while we were resetting everything else, we might as well reset ourselves,” Bow explained.

“This is incredible!” Prince said, “So this is what you looked like before…?”

“Yep!” Hat said as she climbed off Prince’s chest and did a little spin, “What do you think?”

“You both look amazing! Though, you were pretty cute before too,” Prince said.

“True, but the whole ghost thing would have been a bit hard to explain to everyone back home,” Bow said with a sheepish smile.

“So…you’re ready to go then?” Prince asked.

“Yeah, but there’s something we want to ask you first,” Bow said.

Bow looked at Hat, they both nodded, and then Hat climbed back on top of Prince. Then they both clasped their hands together and bowed their heads.

“Will you please adopt us and come back home with us?” the girls said.

“Wha…wait, don’t you have someone waiting for you back home?” Prince asked.

“Well, sorta. We have a guardian, but,” Hat said.

“He looks after a whole bunch of kids! He doesn’t have time for just us!” Bow cried.

“And these past few weeks with you, they’ve felt like…” Hat said.

“This has to be what family feels like, right?!” Bow said.

“And family has to stay together, right?” Hat said.

Both of the girls cries stopped as Prince sat up and wrapped his arms around them.

“I’d be proud to have both of you as my daughters,” Prince said.

Both girls dissolved into tears in his arms until they heard the doors of the kitchen swoosh open.

“Don’t you two forget about me either. I’ll be coming along too,” Cooking Cat said.

“But… don’t you have to go back and look after the Mafia?” Hat sniffled.

“It’s about time those boys learned to look after themselves properly. Besides, I saw what your kitchen looked like before I got here. I’ll resign my title as chef before I leave you two alone in here again,” Cooking Cat scolded.

“I think that’s settled then,” Prince laughed.

“Yes!” the girls yelled as they sprung into the air.

“I can’t wait for you to meet Timmy! And Tim! Oh, and Beta!” Hat yelled.

“Neither can I,” Prince laughed.

Out of the corner of his eye Prince saw Bow approach the window and look down for a moment. The he saw her take something shiny and toss it down to the planet below.

“What was that?” Prince asked as Hat continued to list off names in the background.

“Oh,” Bow said, “Just something for someone who needs it.”

“Well, that’s very nice of you. Are you ready to fly?” Prince asked.

“Yeah,” Bow said with a smile, “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the end you're given the option to help Mustache Girl or not by giving them one Time Piece. I personally didn't but I figured Bow would be too nice to not help out.


End file.
